At my 50th birthday brunch this year, My friend Pam Godwin brought me fresh cut flowers. I LOVE fresh cut flowers. This was Pam’s first time visiting me in Brooklyn although she had been following my garden adventures on Facebook. I was thrilled to share my backyard and garden with all of my friends. During the party Pam said to me “I brought you flowers. I know that you are growing vegetables but I had no idea that you also had so many flowers!”

A lot of what I do in my garden is purely whimsical and driven by the limits of space. I enjoy trying different things and waiting for the surprise. It’s the fun part of gardening. However, lately I have been occasionally listening to “expert” gardeners and discovering that some things I do whimsically have fancy names… like “companion planting” and “multi sowing”. A few years ago my dad advised me to plant marigolds with tomatoes to repel pests… And I did. I discovered that I want a stimulating pop of color in my garden so I began to expand on that idea. Not only do I plant different edibles together, but I love to add flowers and decorative plants to my garden. Here are a few of my favorites this year:
Veggies and Flowers
These are the early days of the companion planting. I mostly planted marigolds and vincas with my herbs and veggies.






Edible Companions
With my 22ft * 22ft backyard I have to be very creative with my use of space. As I want a significant variety of produce, I have no choice but to ignore the recommended spacing. So I combine different veggies, herbs etc. I apply no exact science and I am always open to learning what works and what does not.
And it All Goes Wild!
This is what the garden looked like in full bloom:















I love all these colors together, and after seeing your garden teh other day I started throwing some flowers into my own veggie pots, cuz Y NOT! The yield you get, Shindy, and the variety is astounding, especially considering the size of your garden. Impressive and inspiring!
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It’s fun for me to look back because it’s different every year! Can’t wait to see your colorful veggie garden!
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