Flowers and vegetables. Both are essentially just plants. One plant has a short growth cycle, and we cultivate it for its flowers . Other plants take a little longer to flower. Along the way, some plants produce leaves or roots that we can eat, or they produce a fruit after flowering (a tomato). We then call those plants vegetables. But vegetables and flowers are just plants :)

I'm more of a practical gardener than someone who wants everything to be aesthetically pleasing. I have relatively little time for my vegetable garden, yet I still want a return. So, it has to be quick and practical. I also won't sow or plant flowers just because I find them beautiful. I sow and plant them because they're useful in the garden. And if they're also beautiful, there are only smiling faces in that regard.

A bee full of pollen, ready to fertilize your vegetables

Flowers play a very important role in the vegetable garden, but selecting them is completely different from selecting flowers for ornamental gardens. We won't be selecting flowers based on size or color, but rather on their appeal to the insects we want in our garden. This article will help you find the best flowers for practical reasons in your vegetable garden. It will help you plant the right flowers with the right crops.

Look here for useful flowers in the Plukkers webshop.

There are two types of beneficial insects that you want to attract to your vegetable garden using flowers:

• Insects that combat or prevent harmful insects and diseases: hoverflies (these flies mimic wasps, bumblebees, and bees while being completely defenseless), lacewings (laceflies feast on thousands of aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies), ladybugs , and many others. I'll write an article about beneficial insects later.
• Insects that help with pollination : In some plants, pollen from a male plant fertilizes a female plant. Sometimes this happens through the wind, but insects are usually the transporters. Bees are the kings of pollination (both honeybees and bumblebees). You should offer them as many nectar sources as possible, especially if you know their numbers are dwindling. Many other insects also contribute to pollination, such as wasps, moths, butterflies, and some beetles.

Ladybugs eat up to 60 aphids per day

So how do you select the best flowers for your vegetable garden? It's important to choose flowers with pollen rich in protein. Many commonly grown flowers in ornamental gardens don't have enough pollen, so it's crucial to choose the right flowers that attract the right beneficial insects. Here's an overview of the best flowers for your vegetable garden. This list also takes into account that the flowers must be easy to grow, attractive, and have the right qualities to attract beneficial insects.

	Marigold : Also called calendula after its Latin name. Marigold is easy to grow and continues to produce flowers well into summer and early autumn. So you'll have marigolds for life.
	Marigolds : The bright yellow, brown, and red colors of the various Marigold varieties are excellent for attracting hoverflies, bees, and butterflies. The sharp scent of Marigolds deters nematodes. Like marigolds , they thrive in almost any soil and are ideal for planting between the crops in your vegetable garden.
	Chamomile and daisies : Most composite flowers will attract a wide variety of insects. The flowers aren't spectacular, but hoverflies and ichneumon wasps love them. An added bonus of chamomile is that you can make a delicious tea from it.
	Onions and garlic : It sometimes happens that onions and garlic bolt. Instead of harvesting the undersized onions or garlic bulbs, it's better to let them flower. Leave them in the ground and let the flowers fully develop. You'll be amazed at how beautiful they are and the variety of insects they attract. Hoverflies love them.
	Parsley and carrots (and by extension all umbellifers) Same story again: you can leave any excess plants. The following year, they'll produce flowers that attract hoverflies. Despite not having such bright colors, you often see beautiful patterns in the flowers.
	Comfrey : Bees love comfrey. Moreover, comfrey leaves are superfoods for your compost and can be used as mulch. It should be noted, however, that comfrey spreads rapidly. Therefore, it's best to restrict the plant's roots. You can grow them in a buried bucket or mason's tub. Also read the previously published article about comfrey .
	Nasturtium : This plant actually does the opposite of all the previous plants. It's very successful at repelling black bean aphids. The plant loses its beauty because it eventually becomes infested with black bean aphids, but you can remove the young branches where the aphids are present and destroy them outside the vegetable garden. Your chickens will love it too.
	Zinnias are true magnets for bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and sometimes even hoverflies. Sowing them among or alongside your fruit and vegetable crops increases the chances of better pollination for plants like zucchini, pumpkin, beans, and strawberries.
	The open, single flowers of cosmos (or cosmea) are easily accessible to insects like hoverflies and parasitic wasps. These predatory insects help control pests like aphids and caterpillars. Cosmos can thus act as a "biological pest control." Cosmos thrives in poor soil, tolerates drought, and blooms for a long time. This allows it to fill in bare spots in the vegetable garden and provide months of color without much additional care.

Leave some early-maturing flowers in your beds. Beneficial insects love dandelions. See the useful flowers in the Plukkers webshop. Good luck, and long live the beneficial insects! Tom