The Benefits of Planting Vegetables Next to Flowers

In addition to adding beauty to your garden, flowers can actually help improve the yield and quality of your vegetables. Planting vegetables next to flowers can help keep pests away from your veggies and also add nutrients to the soil.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of planting veggies next to flowers.

Pest Control

One of the main benefits of planting vegetables next to flowers is that it can help with pest control. Many insects are attracted to flowers, so having them in your garden can actually help keep pests away from your vegetables.

Certain flowers, like marigolds, contain chemicals that are known to repel pests like aphids and whiteflies. So, planting these flowers next to your veggies can actually help keep them safe from insect damage.

Field of orange marigold flowers in a garden. — Orange marigold flowers

Soil Improvement

Another benefit of planting vegetables next to flowers is that it can improve the quality of your soil. Flowers add essential nutrients to the soil that vegetables need in order to grow healthy and strong.

Honey bee worker collecting pollen. — Bee collecting pollen

For example, think about how much pollen bees collect from flowers. This pollen is then used to make beeswax, which is full of nutrients that are perfect for plants. So, by planting vegetables next to flowers, you’re essentially giving your veggies a natural boost of nutrients.

Improved Yields

Last but not least, planting vegetables next to flowers can actually improve yields. This is because pollinators like bees will be attracted to the flowers in your garden and will inadvertently transfer pollen from the flowers to the vegetables as they move around. This process, known as cross-pollination, helps improve fruit and vegetable yields by increasing genetic diversity.

So, not only will you have a beautiful garden, but you’ll also have a bountiful one!

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many benefits to planting vegetables next to flowers. From pest control to increased yields, this gardening technique can definitely help improve both the beauty and bounty of your garden.

So go ahead and try it out for yourself – your veggies (and your taste buds) will thank you.