Amelia Barker (she/her)
About AuthorApril 9, 2026
in
GardeningHow to Add Flowers to Your Vegetable Garden
So, you’ve mastered the art of growing veggies and want to explore another realm of the gardening world? Or perhaps you’re interested in inviting more pollinators into your garden? Maybe you just want to add some beauty to your life for the sake of beauty, dang it! Then adding flowers to your veggie garden is for you!
As a former commercial flower grower turned edible garden mentor, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. With a bit of planning, flowers and veggies can coexist in raised beds with great success - and so much beauty. Many flowers are even edible! Read on for a crop-by-crop guide to some of my favorite flowers that are both edible and great for cutting.
Tips For Getting Started:
- Choose annual flowers, not perennials. Annual flowers complete their growth cycle in one year, while perennials can live on for years to come. While perennials are great in other areas of the garden, I stick to annuals when growing alongside veggies. This allows for crop rotation within the bed in future years. Some of my favorite annuals to grow alongside veggies are: snapdragons, nasturtiums, bachelor buttons, zinnias, and marigolds.
- Varieties matter! If you are hoping to use your flowers in bouquets or flower arrangements, choose varieties that are bred to have longer stems and attractive colors - also known as “cut flower” varieties. The Floret Flower Library has a wealth of information on which varieties are best for cutting. Johnny’s Seeds also has a cut flower section on their website, which allows you to browse seeds and bulbs that make the best cut flowers. Read on for some of my favorite cut flower varieties in the crop-by-crop growing guide below.
- Get strategic about flower placement. Some flowers, like snapdragons, zinnias, and marigolds, get quite tall and can shade out smaller vegetables or germinating seeds if grown in the wrong location. When growing these flowers alongside vegetables, I prefer to plant them at the north end of the garden bed so that crops planted to the south can still get plenty of sun. Vining flowers like nasturtiums, however, are lovely when planted at the south end of the bed where they can trail over the edge.
Veggies and flowers growing side-by-side! Snow peas growing on a trellis, snapdragons about to burst into bloom in the middle, and nasturtiums along the southern edge trailing out of the bed.
Growing Guides
Snapdragons
Snapdragons are one of my favorite flowers to grow in the spring! They send up tall, fluffy spikes of flowers in a delightful range of colors, and the individual blossoms are edible. They are cool hardy, so can be planted out while nighttime lows are still in the high 30s and 40s. They grow quite tall, so this is one flower to plant at the northern end of your garden bed. Snapdragon seeds can be tricky to germinate, so I prefer to grow them from starts rather than direct sowing.
Spacing: Grow in rows that are 12” wide and space plants 12” apart.
Ideal Time to Plant in the PNW: Transplant starts in April.
Favorite Varieties: Avignon Apricot, Madame Butterfly Bronze, Potomac Lavender
'Madame Butterfly Bronze' and 'Avignon Apricot' snapdragons. Photos courtesy of Johnny's Seeds.
Bachelor Buttons
Another fantastic cool weather bloom that doubles as an edible and cut flower. Tear the petals off and sprinkle them in your lettuce mix for an over-the-top beautiful salad. I have had best success growing from starts in March, then switching to direct sowing seeds once the soil warms a bit in April.
Spacing: Plant seeds or starts in rows that are 12’’ wide. Plant starts 12” apart or sow seeds in small clusters that are 6’’ apart and thin to 1 plant per cluster after germination.
Ideal Time to Plant in the PNW: Transplant starts in March or sow seeds directly in the garden in April.
Favorite Varieties: Tall Blue Boy, Classic Magic, Classic Romantic
Nasturtiums:
Nasturtiums are a quintessential edible flower with a peppery taste. Their trailing vines add magic and whimsy to the garden. They’re also a great trap crop for aphids! Nasturtiums germinate very easily from seeds, so skip the starts and try direct sowing.
Spacing: Plant seeds 6’’ apart in rows that are 12’’ wide. When possible, plant at the southern edge of the bed so the vines can trail over the edge of the bed.
Ideal Time to Plant in the PNW: Sow seeds any time from March through mid-June.
Favorite Varieties: Bloody Mary, Alaska, Purple Emperor, Orchid Cream
Top row: 'Tall Blue Boy', 'Classic Magic', and 'Classic Romantic' bachelor buttons (photos courtesy of Johnny's Seeds). Bottom row: 'Alaska', 'Purple Emporer', and 'Orchid Cream' nasurtiums (photos courtesy of Kitchen Garden Seeds).
Marigolds:
Also known as cempaxochitl, marigolds are one of my all-time favorite flowers for their beauty, global cultural significance, and beneficial insect-attracting qualities. They are sensitive to cold temperatures, so best to wait until May to plant marigolds in the garden. After experimenting with the best date to transplant marigold starts for a Dia De Los Muertos crop, I have found that, in our climate, transplanting in mid-July gives best results.
Spacing: Plant seeds or starts 12’’ apart in rows that are 12’’-18’’ wide.
Ideal Time to Plant in the PNW: Transplant starts in early May, or grow from seeds or starts mid-May through mid-June. Transplant starts in mid-July for a late fall crop.
Favorite Varieties: Giant Orange, Coco Gold, Pinwheel
Miniature marigolds (also called French marigolds) grown alongside a crop of fall brassicas. French marigolds don't make the best cut flowers because of their short stature, but they are fantastic in the garden for their ability to bloom continuously all summer and fall.
Zinnias:
Zinnias are the beautiful workhorse of the cut flower garden, producing bloom after bloom for months. Though not particularly delicious, you can use their colorful petals as a garnish on summer salads. Like marigolds, they are sensitive to cool temperatures so wait until May to plant in the garden.
Spacing: Plant seeds or starts 12’’ apart in rows that are 12’’ wide.
Ideal Time to Plant in the PNW: Transplant starts in early May, or grow from seeds or starts mid-May through mid-June.
Favorite Varieties: Oklahoma Salmon, Little Flower Girl, Zinderella Lilac, Persian Carpet Mix
Late season 'Oklahoma Salmon' zinnias sharing a bed with tomatoes. Since the tomatoes are taller than the zinnias, they were positioned at the north end of the bed.
A Note On Challenges:
Have you ever tried to grow out flower starts from a nursery, only to find that the flowers stayed very short and unsuitable for cutting? It probably wasn’t your fault! Many flower starts in nurseries are treated with B-Nine, a growth regulating spray commonly used to keep plants small and more suitable for shipping. To avoid buying flowers that are destined to stay small, look for starts that are certified organic or try growing flowers from seeds. And if you’re shopping in the Portland area, ask your local nursery if they stock plants from one of our favorite growers of high-quality starts, Humming Bee Nursery!
Amelia Barker (she/her)
Originally from New York, Amelia moved to Oregon in 2016 and has been farming ever since. She has worked on and managed farms from 16 acre mixed veggies to an intensive half acre of cut flowers. Her love of plants also manifested at school educational gardens, a genomics lab at a botanical garden, a seed saving nonprofit in Bangalore, India, and flower shops across the country. When she’s not puttering in the garden, find Amelia working on a sewing project or exploring a new park with her daughter.
