I love my zinnias in my vegetable garden. They are so beautiful and I love the new streaked varieties. They are a double zinnia and are so interesting to look at and the pollinators like them. I know if I was a bee, I would visit them!
They are also an edible flower-check out this article on eating them and recipes at: arcadiafarms.net
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.
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.
Here is a picture of some beautiful zinnias right next to Japonica corn. The corn comes from Japan, is organic and I bought it purely for its beautiful leaves. I got it from Seed Saver’s Exchange and here is the description from them-“Extremely beautiful ornamental corn from Japan, listed in the 1890s as Striped-Leafed Japanese Maize. Variegated leaves striped with green, white, yellow and pink. Tassels are dark purple, kernels are burgundy. Beautiful used as a border.”
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