Kitchen Garden Flowers
People ask me all the time what kind of gardening I do, and my standard response is, “I’m definitely a veggie girl.” But to be honest, I really like flowers, too. Especially old-fashioned annuals like nasturtiums, zinnias, sunflowers, and cosmos.
I always manage to find a place for them tucked among my vegetables. Without the flowers, my garden would be a sea of green (green cucumbers, green zucchini, green greens), and they lure in the beneficial insects that pollinate my cucumbers and squash and keep pests under control. Plus, who doesn’t like having a ton of cut flowers right outside the back door?
My favorite vase for homegrown bouquets is a tin can because they are short and stout with a wide mouth, which means I can cram in a lot of flowers and then recycle or compost the whole bouquet, vase and all, when the flowers are spent. I’ll fancy things up by wrapping a bit of twine around the belly of the can when I’m giving flowers to a friend, but either way the bouquets are adorable.
Great vase idea! I also grow flowers in my kitchen garden – for the same reasons. I add salvia, spring bulbs, purple coneflower, asters, and black-eyed susans to the mix because sometimes the perennials are easy to take care of. Also, the bees love my Anise Hyssop, the bumble bees are all over it. Thanks for the pretty pictures!!!
September 18th, 2008 at 7:44 amso do you just throw the seeds anywhere or how do you space with flower seeds with the vegi seeds? And when do you plant them? Sorry – im a novice!
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 amHi, Amy! Good question. I usually plant zinnias in rows in my beds between vegetable crops. I typically plant them by seed. I lined my garden pathway with nasturtiums and I bought some johnny jump up seedlings and just tucked them here and there, wherever I though a bit of color could be nice. Most of the flower seed grow best in warmer soil, so I plant them in my climate in early June.
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:28 pmHi Willi – So happy to have found your blog. I am also in the Seattle area, I put up a site last month about gardening in the parking strip. I love interplanting food crops and flowers, since as you said it spices it up visually and also works for the beneficials. Look forward to reading more of your posts!
Cheers,
Karen
September 23rd, 2008 at 4:06 pmhttp://greenwalks.wordpress.com
these are so gorgeous, you could have a second career selling these at a farmers market, all beautifully higgeldy piggeldy in these cans!
September 29th, 2008 at 8:46 pmAmazing site! love the easy layout
March 8th, 2009 at 3:12 pm[...] The Oscar planters come in two sizes—one is two feet tall and the other tops out close to three feet—and they cost $55.95 and $95.95 respectfully. If that’s a little too pricey, consider recycling real tin cans in your garden by planting them up with herbs or using them as cute, free flower vases. [...]
March 25th, 2009 at 9:16 am