[willnbirdie]

Hi

Every year our daughter has a section of the allotment to grow her own things, it's only a small area and we have found that it doesn't really work having sunflowers, leeks, potatoes, parsnips to name but a few in such a small area.

Therefore we have decided next year to give her ownership of rows of certain veg in the main garden - she is really excited about this.

However we/she would still like her to have a patch of her own and she would really like to grow flower - I have no idea on flower at all.

Can anyone please tell me what flowers are easy to grow, are good for a vegetable garden but that are also good for picking as she would like to be able to pick some and give them to her grandma and bring home too.  Also would like her garden to have colour all season long.

Any help would be really appreciated, I am a time poor full-time mum and don't have a lot of time for research - many thanks

willnbirdie

[birmancats]

You could try a row of a wildflower mix.  Great for all your polinators and depending on the mix you chose some good flowers for grandma

[Fisherman]

You could try: -

Daffodils & Tulips for spring
Chrysanthemum's for summer
Gadioli for summer
Sweet Peas for summer through to Autumn

All can be cut for the house and are easy to grow.
Dafodils need planting now and will multiply year on year.
Gladioli bulbs can be dug up at the end of the season and dried for planting the following year.
Cuttings can be taken from Chrysanthemum's and kept over winter in a frost free place.

Hope that helps.

[RichardA]

Poppies.
Sweet peas.
Bulbs in submerged pots and then lift to free up ground.
All the bee and bat friendly ones incl phacelia which is a green manure as well. I was going to suggest comfrey but that has irritating hairs on it that would be  a bit much for little fingers.
How about Herbs -- not out of place in a veg garden, interesting flowers and opens up ideas about smells, textures, cooking, drying, and surely grandma would be pleased-- from lavender to basil to mint etc. Little bay tree etc.
Good to see she is interested, well done
R

[gillie]

Also lots of hardy annuals such as:
Calendula
Nasturtium
Scabious
Cornflower
Cosmos
Clary
Annual Chrysanthemum

or the biennial Sweet William

Single flowers are better insect attractants than fancy double ones

[1jim]

tulips, galdioli, sunflowers(dwarf and big ones ) cosmos (lasts ages in our house as a cut flower). the cosmos we really just sprinkled over the ground and left it alone, didnt water and do anything else and it looked after itself

[willnbirdie]

thanks everyone for replies - plenty to choose from there - think I will get my daughter involved in choosing which ones she likes the look of

willnbirdie