Flowers in the Vegetable Garden: Pollination, Beneficial Bugs, and Beauty

Zinnias attract many beneficial insects to the garden.

A number of years ago, a gardening issue of Martha Stewart Living featured the most gorgeous vegetable garden I'd ever seen. Photographed on a foggy morning, the garden had mystique and elegance - things I'd never considered possible in a vegetable garden. After examining the photos, I realized the thing that really set this garden apart from other veggie gardens I'd seen was - flowers. For years, however, I avoided planting flowers in my garden. I have little enough room for edibles; I didn't feel I could use up space in order to make the garden prettier. And while I still struggle with those feelings, I've also come to realize flowers do a vegetable garden good. They attract pollinating bees, which makes the garden more productive, and they deter certain pests, too.

Bachelor's Button.

While it's true any flowers may be beneficial to a vegetable garden, it's smart to pick flowers with specific goals in mind. If you're looking to keep "bad" bugs at bay, it's wise to choose flowers that attract insects that will eat them. (These are called "beneficial insects.") If your goal is to attract bees, then you'll want to choose flowers bees particularly love. Here are some ideas:

Bachelor's Button (Cornflower; Centaurea cyanus): Attracts ladybugs (which eat aphids), lacewings (which eat aphids, whitefly, spider mites, thrips, leafhoppers, mealybugs, and other pests), and beneficial wasps (which eat aphids). Reseeds itself easily; petals are edible. 

 

Cosmos.

Borage (Borago officinalis): Attracts lacewigs, beneficial wasps, and bees. Both the flowers and leaves are edible. Readily reseeds.

 

Calendula (Pot Marigold, Calendula officinalis): Attracts bees, butterflies, and hoverflies (which eat aphids and leafhoppers). The petals are edible and the plant easily reseeds. 

 

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica): Attracts bees. Readily self sows. 

Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens): Attracts bees, butterflies, ladybugs, and lacewigs.

Chamomile (Anthemisn obitis): Attracts ladybugs. Readily reseeds. Petals are edible.

Cosmos: Attracts lacewings, hoverflies and parasitic mini-wasps.  

 

Dame's Rocket (Hesperis): Attracts bees and butterflies; the petals are edible.

 

Marigold (Tagetes sp.): Attracts butterflies and hoverflies, and if the roots are left in the soil over winter,

Nasturtium.

they kill nematodes. The petals are also edible.  

Nasturtium: Attracts aphids, who will feast on this plant instead of others. Readily self sows and all parts above ground are edible.

Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima): Attracts parasitic mini-wasps, hoverflies, and bees.   

 

Yarrow (Achillia sp.): Attracts hoverflies, ladybugs, and parasitic mini-wasps.

Zinnia (Zinnia elegans): Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, hoverflies, and parasitic wasps. 

Truly, this is just the tip of the iceberg, so if you have a specific pest you want to deter, it's smart to look up what insect is it's natural predator and what flowers will attract those predators.For example, if I want to learn what eats aphids, I'd use this Google search. Then I'd do a Google search for what attracts a specific beneficial, like ladybugs.

California poppies.

A final note: You can increase the ability to attract desirable insects - and insect eating birds - by providing a water source. If you use a sprinkler to water your garden, this will probably leave little puddles around the garden - and that's enough to attract most "good" bugs. (However, be sure to water early in the day, or you may end up with disease problems in the garden.) Otherwise, a birdbath or similar water source is a great addition to the garden. Just be sure to dump the water every couple of days and replace it with fresh (so you won't breed mosquitoes). 

For more information on organic pest control, see"The Organic, Pest Free Garden - Part 1: Bugs"

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