“My garden threw a party, the bees by hundreds came. They kissed her so completely that she never was the same.” —Ginny Neil
Images Courtesy of Ginny Neil.
My garden is a flirt. She craves cool drinks and hot times. She longs for the sweet kiss of mysterious moths, the ticklish touch of hoverflies and the musical vibrato of bumblebee wings.
Because I know that a pretty garden is a well-pollinated garden, I make sure she is dressed to attract. I plant a petticoat of purple and pink cosmos. I tuck sunflower seeds under and around her squashes. I dot her tomatoes with yellow marigolds. And then? I apply the lipstick of the garden world: a row of red zinnias.
Her beauty creates a buzz. Honey bees dive deep into her flowery face. Butterflies flitter above her petal pink blushes. Hummingbirds hum and hover.
The party goes on for weeks. The fancier flowers pull in plenty of pollinators who are happy to dance with the plainer vegetable blooms. Bees and beetles buzz between butter nuts and beans, and pause at pickling cukes and cantaloupes. As they wiggle and waggle their way to the nectar and pollen buffet, they powder themselves plenty, wearing gold dust like New Year’s confetti.
Their exhausted pleasure leads to vegetable babies. Lots of babies. Delicious babies. A prolific vegetable garden is all about the sex.
But flowers aren’t just pretty faces. If your soil includes compacted clay, then cilantro is your go-to girl. In addition to spicing up your salsa, her lacy blooms are great in cut bouquets while the deep tap roots dig down and soften soils. At the end of the season, chop and drop the spent foliage right into the garden while allowing the tap roots to stay and decay. Both will feed the soil for the next season
Flowers can also help reduce pest problems. Calendulas create a sticky sap that traps aphids and white flies. Meanwhile, hoverflies, green lacewings and lady bugs come for the sweet nectar but stay for the buggy buffet.
Sweet alyssum and nasturtiums both make great living mulches, shading the soil below and between taller plants. In addition to helping control weeds, they also hold moisture in the soil. And, if you plant red clover, you also get the benefit of nitrogen fixation, while buckwheat roots are great at grabbing phosphorous from the soil and returning it when the stems are mulched. Just be sure to chop clover and buckwheat down before they set seed.
This year, my son accidentally plowed my garden a third bigger than I had anticipated. At first I was annoyed. What was I going to do with an extra 15 by 50 feet of dirt? Then it hit me. I had more room for flowers!
When I was growing up, I spent a week or two every summer with my Nana and Papa on their farm in southeastern Virginia. Our simple pleasures included fishing in the pond, lazing in the hammock and eating strawberries fresh from the garden. But one of my most beloved memories is the armfuls of zinnias which we cut and arranged every day in riotous bouquets around the old plantation house.
So, after planting a few pumpkins for my grandchildren, I sowed the rest of the bonus space with a festival of zinnias. I chose a mixture called “Lava Lamp,” for its fiery oranges, reds and yellows. I chose “Mardi Gras” because I loved the carnival colors. I added “Pumila Bordeaux” for its cut and come again qualities and “Cherry Queen” to share with my sister who loves all things red.
Each evening, My Own Farmer and I take some refreshments out to the deck and enjoy the party. As day fades to night and the bees buzz away, we raise a glass to the garden’s glorious beauty. Then we slip back inside to enjoy her delicious bounty.
Summer is a celebration of all the best things in the garden. So go ahead, plant a party. You will be glad you did.
The story above first appeared in our July / August 2023 issue.
