Sunflowers and Flowers In The Vegetable Garden

Titan sunflower at dawn

The sunflowers are in full swing right now in the garden. In the entry way are ‘Titan’ sunflowers. I call them the guardian angels of the garden. They can get huge (up to 24 inches) although mine did not this year as they were planted late (like middle of June). Still beautiful.

Hopi sunflowers

Inside the entry are some other sunflowers-Hopi sunflowers, and Chianti sunflowers. We also have wild sunflowers that grow here in NM, they just haven’t found my garden yet.

: Tip Top nasturtiums

I love the green and white dappled foliage of these Tip Top nasturtiums against the other greens in the garden.

Borage is a bee plant

Borage is a companion plant to strawberries and the bees love them too. I’ve never seen the strawberry plant so lush and the bees are crazy for them!

Scarlet Runner Bean

Scarlet Runner beans are a vining pole bean and produce a beautiful orange flower. Here a bumblebee is visiting some flowers.

Entrance to the garden

Scarlet Runner beans compete with the Rattlesnake beans for the arbor.

Zinnias

The zinnias look great mixed in with ornamental corn, tip top nasturtiums and cosmos.

Cosmos

The cosmos next to the silver leafed squash are in full bloom now.

All the flowers have added to create a beautiful entrance and attract beneficial insects as a bonus. I even saw some hummingbirds this year in the garden which I haven’t seen before. If you didn’t plant flowers in your veggie garden this year, you should perhaps consider them for next year. They add so much beauty and I love hearing the bees in the garden doing their thing.

International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day this Sunday-May 1, 2011!

Apr27

GIANT TITAN SUNFLOWER

This Sunday, May 1 is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day where people all around the world will go out and plant some sunflower seeds in a public or private place that needs beautifying this summer. Look for places that have bare ground and maybe a drip system where you can plant the seeds next to a drip emitter so the seeds have a chance. Also try not to plant them where they may be cut down by a someone who might think they are weeds. Guerrilla gardening is done to beautify otherwise neglected areas. You may be brazen or secretive about your planting. Let’s make this an annual event!

For anyone interested, I will supply FREE sunflower seeds on this Sunday, May 1 for you plant. Come gather at Liquid Light Glass located at 926 Baca Street #3 here in Santa Fe, NM. Show up at 12:30 to get your seeds and everyone leaves at 1pm to go plant. Oh, and don’t forget your trowel!

Afterward if you want, add your experience and where you planted on the ‘Comments’ section of this post for all to read. Later this summer when they flower, take a picture and send it to me and I will print it in a post with others! Hope to see you Sunday! May the force be with you!

Here are some ideas of where to plant (feel free to add your own):

RED SUNFLOWER

1. On medians that the city takes care of

2. In the parks

3. In empty dirt lots

4. On the Plaza (you’ll have to be sneaky)

5. On dirt streets or street corners

6. In church lots

7. At state building grounds

8. By the courthouses

9. At the museums

10. on school grounds

11. At restaurant grounds

12. At big box stores parking lots

13. You think of somewhere-be creative and let me know!

Garden Arbor Entrance update August 4

Aug6

garden arbor entrance

Here is a picture of the garden arbor in my entrance to the veggie garden. The ‘Rattlesnake’ beans, a pole variety that can grow 13 feet a season, are doing really well covering the arbor-just like I envisioned when I built it at the beginning of the season. An added bonus is they taste great. You only have to pick the beans before they get too big and tough. I ate some raw right out of the garden and they have a nutty sweet flavor that I like better than the ‘Contender’ bush beans that are just finishing up. Rattlesnake beans are a winner!

entrance right side

Also pictured to the right of the arbor are chartreuse colored ‘Golden Sunshine’ Scarlet Runner beans I got from Cook’s Garden growing on the fence. They come from England. I love their bright yellow green leaves against the other greens. I grow them just because they are so beautiful and I love that purple varigated color of the seeds when they are dried. They haven’t flowered yet as they are just climbing the fence but when they do, the bright red blossoms will look great against that yellow-green.

Behind the Scarlet runner beans, still on the right side of the entrance are my giant ‘Titan’ sunflowers that will be fantastic a little later when they get their huge flowers. They will grow up to 10 feet tall and have heads that can get up to 24 inches wide! I call all sunflowers the guardian angels of the garden. Did you know sunflower flower heads follow the sun all day long? Sun worshipers! Hence their name. They are so majestic! Behind them are various flowers that will be blooming soon to add color and attract beneficial insects.

entrance inside left

On the left side just inside the entrance, are asparagus fronds, calendula, ”Bright Lights’ chard, ‘Chianti’ sunflowers, multicolor ‘Japonica’ corn from Seedsavers Exchange and other flowers coming along. I got a late start in this section of the garden but it should look great later this month and I will take more pictures then.