Often when it comes to gardening we keep our vegetables and flowers separate. But did you know that there are several benefits to adding flowers around or right with your vegetable patch - one being they help attract pollinators to help pollinate your vegetables which will give you a better production on vegetables. This is Week 1 of a Series We'll be doing on "The Benefits of Adding Flowers to Your Vegetable Garden".
The main vegetables that benefit from pollination are those that produce "fruits". That includes all your summer and winter squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, melons, Cabbage, Broccoli and Tomatoes. Tomatoes actually can pollinate themselves with wind since they have male and female parts on their flowers, but they still benefit from bee and the most effective is the "buzz" from bumble bee pollination which is the most effective for them.
When it comes to Pollinators that pollinate vegetables the most common are Honeybees (both wild and managed), Bumblebees, Solitary bees as well as Butterflies, Flies and certain types of Wasps. So We're going to be looking at some of the best Annuals and Perennials that attract most all of these!
Annuals:
Calendula is a bright, colorful annual that bees love!
Some common annuals for adding to vegetable beds include: Sunflowers, Nasturtium, Ageratum, Giant Hyssop, Zinnias, Calendula, Cosmos, Snapdragons, Salvia, Sweet Peas, Marigolds to name some. You can also plant annual herbs like Basil, Borage and Dill.
Ageratum is a very pretty flower that is a huge bee attractor. It grows in a range of 6" to 26" and has a pleasant scent. Common for cut flower use as well which is how I loved to use it. It comes in purple/blue shade, white and pink.
Zinnias both the regular or pom pom type like shown here are huge pollinator attractors. Bees, Butterflies and Hummingbirds love them!
Annual Flowers work great for popping in beds in corners or sides right where you're growing your vegetables. Just be sure to leave adequate space and room for both the vegetables and plants to grow and get adequate sunlight.
Perennials:
Perennials are also great to add in your vegetable area - I would suggest not putting them in vegetable beds or annual area but a more permanent place. Some suggested Perennials are: Echinacea, Poppies, Rudbeckia, Phlox, Geranium, Lavender, Joe Pye Weed.
I've never seen a flower that bees loved more than poppies! When blooming sometimes 5-6 bees pile on one flower to harvest.
Bees also love Rudbeckia. There are so many different types too! They are soo pretty to add to any garden!
Flowers not only attract more pollinators to the vegetable garden but also add color and beauty that really is enjoyable for the gardener! Often I've heard people say they grow a vegetable garden out of "necessity" but the flowers are their joy to grow - so why not get the best of both worlds? Check out the seed store for some of our favorite annual flowers as well as a sweet "Flower Lovers" Seed Collection.
Breanna Sproule