Allotment flowers

[lumpyjumper]

I'm contemplating planting some flowers along the edges of the two short ends of my allotment.

I have some free sunflower and poppy seeds and I am tempted to plant the sunflowers at the north end of the plot (so they don't shade anything other than the cars!) but I'm not sure what else....

Do any grapes plant flowers on their allotment and if so, what do you sow?

More importantly what shouldn't I sow as it attracts the wrong bugs/birds etc?

[kiwirach]

i'm planning on having flowers this year.....mostly ones i'd like to have brought at the supermarket but are just to just to expensive. plus i came across a pack of wild flower seeds that help attrack bees and butterflys to your garden so am going to sow them as well.
i'm still learning the good ones/bad ones, and also about any flower/veg companion planting.

[jacob marley]

I usually have a few Dahlia's and a few Gladolli not for any other reason i like to see them.
There is a prize given on our site for the best floral front ....jacob

[lettucegrow!]

Are there any wrong type of bugs/birds,they all have some sort of purpose but I think the idea is to plant stuff as sacrificial, the idea being that the bugs go on them rather than your cabbages. Nasturtiums are supposed to be good. But does it work, if you get caterpillars on them surely they don't know they should just stay there and carry on munching?! I haven't got an allotment but on my veg. space I grow sunflowers , sweet peas and squeeze in some zinnias, to go for the potager look .

[SarzWix]

We've got/will have limnanthes (poached egg flowers) underneath the blackcurrant bushes, red nasturtians under the redcurrant and blackthorn, bedding dahlias at the ends of the pea & bean beds, sweet peas up the fences and sunflowers in the gaps. I've also sown echinacea, but I don't think they'll be big enough to go out this year.
edit: Oh, yeah, and not forgetting marigolds all round the greenhouses

[lynda66]

nasturtiums are brill, they attract cabbage whites and blackfly .... they prefer them to your beans and cabbages, and lay their eggs on them instead, i had loads of each on mine last year and none on my beans and very few on my brassicas ..... bumble bees love them ... borage is also good for bees.

bumble bees also love red clover, a patch of wildflowers is good , if you have a bit of spare room.

marigolds attract hoverflies (and slugs prefer them to lettuce)as does dill, and their babies eat aphids, sunflowers are good for bees and birds when the seeds form birdies also eat aphids

dill and fennel attract ladybirds..

do a search on companion planting and you should come up with some other ideas

[kiwirach]

nasturtiums are brill, they attract cabbage whites and blackfly .... they prefer them to your beans and cabbages, and lay their eggs on them instead, i had loads of each on mine last year and none on my beans and very few on my brassicas ..... bumble bees love them ... borage is also good for bees.

bumble bees also love red clover, a patch of wildflowers is good , if you have a bit of spare room.

marigolds attract hoverflies (and slugs prefer them to lettuce)as does dill, and their babies eat aphids, sunflowers are good for bees and birds when the seeds form birdies also eat aphids

dill and fennel attract ladybirds..

do a search on companion planting and you should come up with some other ideas

great post lynda....loads of info there that i didnt know...being a newbie and all!. i've got marigold and nastrutium seed, so will get onto those as well!

[Victoria26]

This year I will mostly have nasturtiums, sweet peas, marigolds, poppies, cosmos and lobelia. Not going for a definate colour theme this year so we'll see how it works out!

[lynda66]

just be careful with the big nasturtiums, they take over, i got some small ones this year

[di]

Someone posted up this site last year(think possibly Irie Jan??),anyway I've got it bookmarked...some interesting ideas...warn you you'll need a bit of time to take it all in!!
Companion Planting

[zazen999]

I sowed limanthes last autumn on mine and they are looking very good at the moment, will spring into life soon.

I'll also have tagetes [french marigolds], nasturtuims, cerinthe, teasel, and any remaining flowers from the borders that my OH doesn't use. I'm also putting quaking grass in, just because I can. And garlic chives, as many as I can as their flowers are totally beautiful.

[jackie j]

Last year I had sunflowers, sweetpeas and marigolds. Also on the outside edge of my plot on one side my daughter planted a mix of bulbs wich are just coming into flower now, they are crocus, small daffs, daffs, hyacenth and tulip, she put them there when I got my plot sept 2007 so this will be their second year. I dont need to use this for anything else but this year I will put more sweetpeas around my fence.
One day I will learn how to put photo's on here.