It has always been my dream to plant edibles among the perennial landscaping. Now that we own our own place and like to do things a bit differently from the norm, I have made those dreams a reality. I let the self-seeding flowers flourish this summer as I’ve patiently waited to see what kinds of blooms are already planted out front.
It’s like Christmas every day and I’m still discovering new flower types each week. Tulips, irises, peonies, daisies, poppies, delphinium, hydrangea, liatris — all blooming in their own time and in their own way. When I got my vegetable garden planted this spring, I planned out just about every inch of it.
And then I found myself with more plants than I had space for and more seeds that were calling my name. I have always heard of a “kitchen garden” —herbs, greens and readily-available edibles — generally planted right outside the kitchen window or door, or in my case, just close enough to the house to not have to wade through puddles in the yard to get to the garden. I have a stack of galvanized tubs planted with herbs of all sorts and a very old wheelbarrow we dragged out of the woods holding my lettuce greens.
I also added decorative (but also edible) kale to my flower planters, as well as smaller planters to hold “bush” variety cucumbers, called Spacemasters. I’m sure there’s some scientific reasoning behind partner planting flowers and vegetables, but I simply enjoy both the beauty and taste of home-grown plants. I’m learning to collect seeds from whatever plant I can, to not only spread the goodness elsewhere in my yard, but also to share with friends.
Some seeds are easier to catch than others, but most of it is learning by trial and error. I remember learning that when my cilantro bolts, its seeds turn into coriander, a spice which I was familiar with from canning pickles with my grandma. It was mind-blowing, and I’m still amazed at what I learn each year from simply digging in the dirt, watching plants grow, and doing a little Googling on the side.
I’ve done some foraging along the woods and throughout my yard this year, as I learn what species of plants I have close by. I've found wild asparagus in the ditches, as well as Saskatoon berries (also known as juneberries) along my driveway, two cherry trees and some plum trees out back, and a couple of types of mushrooms, only one of which I have been able to identify as safe to eat. Plants just established by God between the wild roses and Canada anemone.
Even He saw the need for food among flowers and in natural places for us to find. ADVERTISEMENT I don’t need perfectly curated landscaping or clean, sharp lines in my lawn each week. I want to let the “weeds” grow and see what beauty nature has given me.
I want to plant food among the flowers and harvest cabbage and tomatoes among the poppies and mint among the ferns and lilies, just as God intended. Does anyone else mix things up like this? Email me at andrea.borsvold@gmail.
com and tell me what and why you plant food among the flowers? I’d love to hear what I could try next year! Andrea Borsvold is a busy homesteading mama of three who loves God, coffee, sewing and the beauty of nature living in northwestern Minnesota..
