As soon as you enter the land of vegetable gardening, it seems like the desire to grow flowers comes quickly after! My biggest motivation in growing my own flowers was initially the money savings. Purchasing flowers in Alaska is VERY expensive and I wanted them everywhere! Pots, hanging baskets, in my garden…  everywhere! 

Also, I grew in my gardening knowledge, I learned that the earth doesn’t allow for the ground to stay bare! I quickly learned that there was no such thing as neat rows with no weeds in between. And that fighting the weeds was always going to be an uphill battle. 

Year by year I ditched the idea of neat rows and started incorporating herbs and flowers into my vegetable garden to cover the dirt. Not only does this suppress weeds but it also attracts pollinators, which help all of the plants!

Flowers for the Veggie Garden

The following flowers are my favorite flowers to incorporate into the garden. They are SUPER easy to grow in zone 4 and most don’t require a multiple month lead time if grown from seed. 

I am a glutton for early blooms so I start all these from seed well before my last frost date. I’ll include my timeline within the description of each one, but know that there is a lot of flexibility!  

Marigold 

Marigolds are the real MVP of the garden. Not only are they great for attracting pollinators, marigolds are actually helpful for keeping pests out of the garden as well. They are a great companion plant for tomatoes, beans, potatoes, broccoli, and leafy greens. 

Marigolds also come in many varieties. There are plants that can get 2 feet tall, petite container varieties, they come in stripes or solid colors. Make sure you pay attention to the final size on the seed packet! I prefer to start marigolds 8 weeks before my last frost. 

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums also have multiple benefits. They are a beautiful vining plant that grow well in the corners of raised beds, as ground cover, or up a trellis. The whole plant is edible. Use the flowers for a peppery addition to salads or sandwiches. The leaves are more mild. 

Nasturtiums can also be a trap crop for aphids and squash bugs. Nasturtiums grow quickly and do well in less fertile soil. So if you have a spot where plants struggle to grow – that’s your spot for nasturtiums! I start these 5 weeks before last frost. 

Bachelor Button

Bachelor Button is a flower that can bring some height and bright color to your garden. Buttons will add blue, white, pink, and purple. Bachelor Buttons will bring beneficial predatory insects and pollinators to your garden. 

Growing this flower will also provide you with a great cut flower. Most bachelor buttons are 24-36” tall, however there are container varieties as well. I start this flower 6 weeks before last frost. 

Cosmos

Cosmos are another flower that is great for cutting! They produce beautiful daisy-like blooms. I think they come in just about every color. They can get up to 6 feet tall so make sure you pay attention to the variety you purchase. 

They aren’t picky about soil and are very low maintenance. Cosmos take about 7 weeks to bloom from seed and they will continue to bloom throughout the summer until the first frost. I like to start cosmos 6 weeks before last frost. 

Calendula

Calendula is a great flower that not only attracts pollinators, helps with problematic insects, but it also has herbal benefits as well. It can help with a number of skin issues as it has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties. 

Calendula can be used as a trap crop to draw aphids away from your vegetables. It comes in smaller varieties as well as varieties that could be used as a cut flower. 

More Flowers for the Garden

In order to get more blooms, you can pinch all these flowers (skip the nasturtiums, they already have a vining tendency). When the seedling has 2-3 sets of true leaves, pinch off the main stem with a sharp scissor. This will make the plant bush out more and produce more blooms!

If you are new to gardening, click here to read my post on how to get started. Here is my Amazon storefront if you want to check out my garden and soil blocking favorites.