Dill by eye of einstein
TheGardenLady walks around checking her garden daily to see what is coming up. Though mostly this is a flower garden, I do have herbs and a few edible plants growing among the flowers and I want to see if there are spots where more vegetables can be squeezed in.
Coming up all over my flower beds is my favorite herb, dill. I didn’t plant it. It arrived a number of years ago, I assume, in some other plant I bought. Lucky for me. And I’m so happy it is spreading all over. I love the feathery leaves of the dill plant, I think it adds a nice dimension to the flower bed. A neighbor also loved the look and asked me what was that “exotic” plant I had growing. Imagine her surprise.
I have now also planted bronze fennel in my flower beds; only I planted fennel more in the hopes that the black Swallowtail will eat it than for me to use in my cooking.
I have other herbs growing throughout my flower beds, herbs like lavender and nasturtiums as well as mints- which of course, want to take over my garden.
I also have strawberries growing in my flower bed. I bought Fraises des Bois at White Flower Farm in Connecticut a few years ago. and I am always eager to enjoy the strawberries in May. I could have bought ornamental strawberry plants for my garden. But why not have both the pretty flower AND the strawberries. Of course, the ornamental strawberries have a showy pink flower that is showier than the white flower on edible strawberries. But I am happy with the white flowers because they are followed by the strawberries.
I have been saying that I want to plant the Swiss Chard called Bright Lights, ever since I first saw it advertised. The stems are so colorful that it will be a pretty addition to any flower bed. So this is the year I will definitely plant it.
I am writing this post because planting vegetables in flower gardens is the new wave of gardening. There has always been companion gardening, that is, planting certain flowering plants that assist in the growth of other vegetable plants- like marigolds planted with cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants or petunias planted with squashes and pumpkins. But today people are seeing that there is little distinction between the attractiveness of flowers and vegetables, so ” more gardeners are mixing edible plants throughout the landscape in ways that are inventive, decorative and sometimes stunning.” See here.
Instead of planting a separate vegetable garden and a separate flower garden, join the crowd and combine the two gardens in one spectacular garden and have the best of both worlds.