What flowers go best in a SFG?

cheyannarach 4/12/2012, 10:14 am

I am just wondering what everybody uses for flowers in their SFG. I have been debating which to put in the garden and which to keep potted.

H_TX_2 4/12/2012, 10:26 am

I plant marigolds. They are small and I don't have to use an entire square; I just stick them into the corner of a square with something else. Marigolds produce a substance in the soil that repels nematodes that create root rot and are thought to repel some pests from your plants. Basically I put them in because they don't take up my space and they have some added benefit.

I have pots of Mexican Heather near my garden because bees love it but I would never put that into my garden.

cheyannarach 4/12/2012, 11:03 am

I have some marigolds that I was planning to put in, I also have some geraniums and nasturtiums. I read that geraniums are good because they attract pests them kill them after they eat them nut I am not sure about the nasturtiums because they attract pests and like poor soil. I also have raised beds (built before I started SFG) they are all attached and the bottom one is quite large and I can't reach the back two rows so I have 12 squares that I was just going to put flowers in.

CharlesB 4/12/2012, 11:31 am

Marigolds. Small footprint, attracts what we want, repels what we don't.

I'd say Borage as well but I think people consider that an herb more than a flower.

**Turan** 4/12/2012, 11:36 am

Really any kind of annual works great. You say you have a 2 foot strip that can not easily be reached, so that suggests a thick seeding of mixed annuals. The flowers will keep the soil covered and hopefully out compete weeds and eventually be a green manure crop. Here that mix tends to be heavy on hte cosmos and bachelor buttons and zinnia and sunflowers. I would avoid larkspur because it is poisonous.
To mix under and around the vegetables I use marigolds(pest deterrent and I love em), nasturtiums(tasty zing in salads and look delightful hanging over edges), alyssum(nice smell and beneficial insects love them) and snap dragons because my DH loves them.
In a pot next to the greenhouse is a rose geranium, it lets off a wonderful smell every time I brush past it. Yarrow is good nearish but not in the garden. It is a good food for beneficial insects.

AvaDGardner 4/12/2012, 11:43 am

(@cheyannarch...what a great photo of your little ones!)

It depends on what you are growing.

You can use flowers to repel (you can also repel using other veggies or herbs).

You can also use flowers to attract pollinators.

Plaintoid recently posted a list of companion herbs; the companion plants list in Wiki gives flowers for some veggies (e.g., celery lists snapdragons, cosmos, and daisys); someone else posted a list of companion plants from a different website.

I'd give you links, but my 'pute has a virus and I'm in scan & kill mode now.

(Kinda like cabbage worms in my garden!)

Use the search box at the bottom of 'latest topics.' I'm sure you'll find them!

They are guidelines, not guarantees. One item in Plantoid's list said it repelled aphids, but FamilyGardening had a bad aphid investation on that very plant!

Ava

givvmistamps 4/12/2012, 11:47 am

So wouldn't any flower type do okay if the seed packet says to plant 12" or less apart?

givvmistamps 4/12/2012, 11:49 am

GRRR, hit send button too soon...I was GOING to note that it would be good to pay attention to the end-height of the flowers and plant taller ones at the north end of the boxes.

Icemaiden 4/12/2012, 11:49 am

I would avoid snapdragons unless you want them to seed all over your veg squares Laughing

I have a square for sweetpeas because they always remind me of English allotments.

How about lavender?

hopeless151 4/12/2012, 12:10 pm

I used to eat sweet peas as a little girl...was that a smart thing to do? I also ate cat food...that wasn't too smart, and even more so that I just told the world about it! LOL Wink

Icemaiden wrote:I would avoid snapdragons unless you want them to seed all over your veg squares

I have a square for sweetpeas because they always remind me of English allotments.

How about lavender?

cheyannarach 4/12/2012, 12:43 pm

AvaDGardner wrote:(@cheyannarch...what a great photo of your little ones!)

Thanks AvaDGardner.

It's a large box (46 squares). And its a lot taller than six inches so I am for sure going to grow potatoes, carrots, onions, a lot of root veggies and maybe some beans, peas and brassicas.

I am trying to master companion planting, haha, and don't know if I am thinking into it to much or not. I don't want to attract the wrong things with the flowers I plant. I don't think I will put the nasturtium in there now, and will for sure do the marigolds.

cheyannarach 4/12/2012, 12:45 pm

[quote=How about lavender?[/quote]

Lavender Sounds nice!

cheyannarach 4/12/2012, 12:49 pm

The strip is 2'x6' and is in the center of all for boxes, there is a 1 1/2' drop down so the flowers could get the 3 feet tall and be okay. I was thinking if I had flowers that tall I could plant my peppers in the box above them to help with humidity and shade for the peppers.

**Turan** 4/12/2012, 12:53 pm

Snap dragons don't reseed for me. I wish they did. I can always transplant them to where I would want them.
I love sweetpeas and just planted a trellis with poppies along the garden edge where a path is. You really should not eat them, but it can not be that bad cuz lots of us did.
Lavender is hard to start from seed, it doesn't usually spread but is perennial. A pot of it and rosemary is wonderful next to the beds.

AvaDGardner 4/12/2012, 12:54 pm

A lot of the flowers can be quite tall (borage, lovage, cosmos @ 6', snapdragons, nasturtiums, asters at 2' & 3') so I bought dwarf variety seeds.

There are many types of lavender. Some smell great, others stink!

Yes, when planning your garden, you have to consider heights too!

cheyannarach 4/12/2012, 1:08 pm

Thanks for all the input! I think I will do borage, sweet peas, geraniums, and marigolds. I will keep the nasturtiums around corners to drape down.

HereIGrowAgain 4/12/2012, 2:24 pm

I found some yarrow that is supposed to be a ground cover version. It states on the tag that it only gets 4-8 inches tall. I thought I'd try some of that. I love yarrow. It attracts parasitic wasps so I get pollinators and help fighting tomato hornworms.

plantoid 4/12/2012, 5:45 pm

cheyannarach wrote:Thanks for all the input! I think I will do borage, sweet peas, geraniums, and marigolds. I will keep the nasturtiums around corners to drape down.

That all depends if you want to add flowers into your veg beds or make full flower beds.

I have eight flower beds on the front of the bungalow , they are planted with a few thousand bulbs , corms and tubers for prennial flowering as well as primulas . Aslo heading that side of the bungalow are a few hundred bedding plants & some other prennial plants that are underway in the glass house in mini pots .

The veg gardens will get dwarf french marigolds by the dozen and a few mini crysanthemums as these are anti insect plants .

We will also have six 18 inch diameter hanging baskets with all sorts of hanging stuff up to two yards in length such as sweet peas , hanging geraniums and nasturtiums as well as a few climbing beans & peas that will be hanging down . I'll be deciding more of the contents this week end as I want to colour coordinate / design the baskets.

**Turan** 4/12/2012, 9:45 pm

HereIGrowAgain wrote:I found some yarrow that is supposed to be a ground cover version. It states on the tag that it only gets 4-8 inches tall. I thought I'd try some of that. I love yarrow. It attracts parasitic wasps so I get pollinators and help fighting tomato hornworms.

Are you thinking to plant it straight into the squares? Yarrow has an extensive spreading root system, is perennial and one meant for a lawn is supposed to spread. You might have a very hard time getting rid of it again. Like with mint you might be happier with it in a pot or pathways.
I have yarrow growing wild through my yard. I planted it, the pink and the white kinds, and it has spread every where. I still like it better than grass and the sheep will mow it.

**Turan** 4/12/2012, 9:47 pm

plantoid wrote:
We will also have six 18 inch diameter hanging baskets with all sorts of hanging stuff up to two yards in length such as sweet peas , hanging geraniums and nasturtiums as well as a few climbing beans & peas that will be hanging down . I'll be deciding more of the contents this week end as I want to colour coordinate / design the baskets.

O wow that must be beautiful!
You have me now trying to think of where I could hang a pot and keep it well watered.

cheyannarach 4/13/2012, 12:39 am

plantoid wrote:
cheyannarach wrote:Thanks for all the input! I think I will do borage, sweet peas, geraniums, and marigolds. I will keep the nasturtiums around corners to drape down.

That all depends if you want to add flowers into your veg beds or make full flower beds.

I have eight flower beds on the front of the bungalow , they are planted with a few thousand bulbs , corms and tubers for prennial flowering as well as primulas . Aslo heading that side of the bungalow are a few hundred bedding plants & some other prennial plants that are underway in the glass house in mini pots .

The veg gardens will get dwarf french marigolds by the dozen and a few mini crysanthemums as these are anti insect plants .

We will also have six 18 inch diameter hanging baskets with all sorts of hanging stuff up to two yards in length such as sweet peas , hanging geraniums and nasturtiums as well as a few climbing beans & peas that will be hanging down . I'll be deciding more of the contents this week end as I want to colour coordinate / design the baskets.

They are going into veggie beds. I have a large box that I can't reach the back of and want to put flowers in that area.

givvmistamps 4/13/2012, 12:44 am

Are they going in the north side, south side, or what? I was just thinking that sunflowers would be cool to put in, and I've seen them suggested as a good companion plant for the garden. I don't think it's a companion for any particular thing, just an alternative spot for aphids to go since they prefer sunflowers to anything else, and most sunflowers are so big there's plenty of plant there for the aphids. You don't have to get to them, really, and they'll feed the birds. Of course, you'd have to wash bird poo off your food...but a good organic veggie wash would take care of that! Very Happy

AvaDGardner 4/13/2012, 12:53 am

givvmistamps wrote:Are they going in the north side, south side, or what? I was just thinking that sunflowers would be cool to put in, and I've seen them suggested as a good companion plant for the garden. I don't think it's a companion for any particular thing, just an alternative spot for aphids to go since they prefer sunflowers to anything else, and most sunflowers are so big there's plenty of plant there for the aphids. You don't have to get to them, really, and they'll feed the birds. Of course, you'd have to wash bird poo off your food...but a good organic veggie wash would take care of that!

Want some seeds? Someone just gave me a bag of them! PM me your addy (this offer is open to anyone).

We use them to attract pollinators to the garden. They are a cheap and easy plant and give you lots of seeds! We put their seeds all around the outer areas.

cheyannarach 4/13/2012, 1:02 am

They are going in the center of 4 boxes. The they will be planted in the west side of the east box but this bax is also about a foot and a haf or more lower than the other box. The boxes are attached and built a different heights into a hillside.

givvmistamps 4/13/2012, 1:14 am

Shorter sunflowers might work. I'd offer you seeds, but the sunflowers my son picked grow 10 to 12 FEET TALL!!! That might not work, even in a bed that'll be lower than the next terrace up.

What flowers go best in a SFG? 311672

And how cool that you terraced your boxes up a hill! What flowers go best in a SFG? 311672

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