Orange Gerbera Daisy
When I started gardening, I planted lots of flowers. Eventually, I had in mind that I would only take my time to grow edible plants. Visions of an edible landscape danced in my head. I planted fig trees, apple trees, purple radishes, spinach, lettuce, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, dill, and much more. I wanted to see how much food I could provide for my family from the garden. I found a website that focuses on edible landscaping and was in heaven choosing which trees I liked and would work in zone 7.
Before too long, I started to focus only on edible plants. I stopped caring so much about the perennial garden that I planned and tended. Big mistake! This year, I planted some marigolds among the vegetables in my garden. My first organic gardening teacher taught me that they keep away certain bugs. Later, I learned that gardeners do not agree about whether the marigolds really do any such thing. However, I did not regret planting the flowers. When I washed dishes and looked out the window over the sink, I’d see those orange balls adding color to the raised garden bed filled with green seedlings. I was happy to know they were there.
As any gardener learns, flowers have their uses. For one, purple coneflower is beautiful. They make me happy *and* they feed birds. I bought one flower for $20. When five flowers grew the following year, my $20 started to seem worth it. Then, the 5 flowers turned into a dozen or more over the years. Then, the plant was big enough for me to separate and spread out. The density of the plant meant it blocked weeds, and I spent less time wrangling with annoying and invasive weeds.
I learned that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with planting a flower just because I think it’s beautiful. The flowers attract pollinators, delight my family, add color to the yard, cheer me up on cloudy days and look more vibrant against a background of dark pine mulch.
What are your favorite flowers? What flowers do you have in your garden?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I am currently in the “why plant it if you can’t eat it?” frame of mind. My boyfriend and I were discussing this weekend actually, as we were hiking among beautiful native plants – most of which were inedible. Right now I am gardening in a friend’s backyard, so the thought of planting flowers that don’t ward off insects is a bit of a stretch, but when I finally have a yard of my own, I can imagine flowers that make me smile being a part.
My favorite flowers are blue bells and daffodils. I also love sweet peas, but mainly for the memories they bring me of helping my mom plant them when I was young … and then how they took over our front yard!
I completely understand! I can see not wanting to plant flowers if you are borrowing space. It’s enough work to plant the edibles, and you might want to focus on that for now. On the other hand, it’s also nice to have flower cuttings to bring inside. I always loved the heartiness of zinnias.
I love daffodils too. What do you do with them when the blooms fade? I recently cut mine a bit (left some of the green so it can get nutrients) but they look so droopy most of the time. I would love to know how you handle them!