5 Reasons You Should Plant Flowers in Your Garden
“Flowers lift the spirit and refresh the soul.”
— Martha Lever
Why should you plant flowers in your garden?
1. It’s simple really — they’ll bring you joy!
We’ve had one of the wettest winters in Northern California history and it has felt so gloomy! BUT, it is finally starting to feel like spring around here, which means our flowers are starting to bloom and we are loving it!
One of the cool things about living in Northern California is that we have a long growing season and our mild winters allow for the fall planting and overwintering of hardy annuals. This means, spring can come sooner for us here in Northern California!
This year, I decided to trial growing tulips and it’s been so much fun! I have officially decided that we will always grow tulips moving forward! They are so beautiful and are so easy to grow. I encourage you to snag some this fall and plant them in your landscape. You’ll love when they pop up in the spring!
PRO-TIP: Cool your bulbs in the refrigerator for about 12 weeks to simulate winter prior to planting for longer stems!
2. Flowers attract native bees and beneficial insects.
According to the USDA, 75% of the world’s flowering plants and about 35% of food crops require pollination to reproduce, however, the intensification of agriculture and large-scale monoculture crop cultivation has contributed to a global loss of pollinator biodiversity through habitat loss, environmental contaminants, disease and other factors. This is one of the reasons that we grow our flowers using sustainable methods and without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides — for the bees, for our family, and for you!
If everyone grew a small vegetable and flower garden in their backyard, imagine just how much habitat we would create for our pollinator friends! We need them to survive.
3. Your vegetables will love it!
As I mentioned above, having flowers in your garden helps to attract pollinators. These pollinators will not only visit your flowers, they’ll visit your vegetables, too, giving your them an extra boost!
Your garden will be more abundant and pest-resistant when you provide a haven for pollinators!
4. Flowers connect us.
Growing flowers connects us, not only to each other, but also to nature. There is something about gardening that makes you slow down and appreciate what you have.
"We might think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it's our garden that is really nurturing us." - Jenny Uglow
I find immense joy in gifting flowers that I’ve grown myself to friends and loved ones, it’s one of my favorite things!
5. They are beautiful!
Adding flowers to your yard or garden adds beauty and joy to your life. Studies have shown that flowers increase our “happy” hormones, which means growing flowers can make you feel more joy in your day-to-day life.
I can tell you, I have experienced this first-hand. And, I appreciate them even more, knowing I’ve nurtured them from seed to bloom.
