A multi passionate life

Living a multi passionate life

VEGETABLES AND FLOWERS TO GROW IN THE GARDEN

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FAVORITE VEGGIES AND FLOWERS TO GROW IN THE GARDEN

vegetables and flowers to grow in the garden

Hobbies are our passions. I’d like to share one of mine with you.

Through the last few years, gardening has grown to be a grounding experience for me. and in this post, I’m going to share my favorite flowers and vegetables that I grow in my backyard space, many which can be grown in pots. But I will also tell you why I love them. Plus, with the rise in cost of food, what better time to start growing food than now?

At A Multi Passionate Life, I share ways for us to uncover our passions by digging deeper. Tell me a hobby of yours and why you love it below in the comment section and if you like gardening posts, please let me know. I’d love to share! I don’t always want to write with a focus of making money. For us to have a balance of work and pleasure, we need to focus our attention on things we love, too. No strings attached like making money, but things you do to ground yourself. Gardening is that for me. It has helped me so much through the years.

Being outdoors with nature, getting my hands in dirt, or holding a large harvest and sharing beans, or seeds… it’s healing, plus, it creates opportunity for me to get outside more often on the days where I may never leave my house.

Let me start by saying, I by no means think I’m some garden guru. Quite the contrary. But I am inspired by it; love learning more abouts plants, the evolution of growing things and I enjoy sharing what I like with other people. What grows for me, may not grow for you, though I wish you a wonderful journey!

I used to think I had a very brown thumb when it came to growing plants, and I sometimes I still do (especially indoor plants) … but don’t let a few bad tries discourage you! 😉

If you have a small growing area, try growing in pots. I grow many vegetables and fruit in pots because of limited in-ground or sun loving spots in my yard. Growing veggies and flowers aren’t limited to in-ground efforts. You can have a successful harvest from pots and raised beds.

If you’re starting a garden or would like ideas on what to plant, even with smaller space, then I hope this post will give you the garden inspiration you need to get digging!

I started growing my own veggies about 4 or 5 years ago. It all started when a friend gifted me my first blueberry plant, and then once I grew more tomatoes than I knew what to do with, it really sparked a desire to keep learning and growing (and eating). (:

GARDENING HELPFUL TIP: Look up your hardiness zone so you know what will grow in your area.

DON’T GET DISCOURAGED

If veggies don’t produce, or seeds aren’t germinating, it’s okay and it happens. Learn why, and next time you plant, you’ll try something different. Sometimes crops are taken by weather and circumstances you can’t control. Other times it’s taken by pests or lack of knowledge about the plant. You may plant seeds too late or too early, not care for the roots when transplanting, or your container isn’t big enough.

It’s so cool growing things, and eventually, you’ll get there if you stick with it. But it also doesn’t need to be overwhelming. But you can’t control every situation. Do your best and keep trying!

Start small by growing what you or your family already enjoy. Don’t grow something if you won’t use it.  Growing your own food is a great way to taste new vegetables.

This is the truth: I’ve not been able to grow decent carrots. 🙂 But I try every year and wind up with miniature “baby” carrots. :B Still pretty cute and useful… but still, I’d love to pull up a full sizze carrot after trying to grow them for months. Eventually, I’ll grow a bunch worth!

So let’s dig together. Drop a comment below, and share what you’re thinking of planting next, or any garden tips you’d like to share with us.

Now, let’s get growing!

Here are my favorite things to grow and why I love them.

borage, calendula and zinnia

First, we take care of the pollinators. 

We have pollinators to thank for every one in three bites of food we take. They are miracle workers and providing a safe space for them is essential in a growing garden. It’s important to first take care of our pollinating friends, and then the veggies & fruit will come. 

Pollinators are most commonly bees, birds, bats and butterflies and our ecosystems depend on them.

  • Providing feeders, houses, baths, and/or bat boxes into your growing space will give them resting spots, supplement food in the winter and help our friends do their magic work.
  • Adding attractive flowers and herbs to your garden encourage and help our little friends to hangout in your garden.

What I’ve found very easy to grow from seed have been borage, zinnia varieties, calendula, and nasturtiums.

Other great flowers for garden spaces would be lavender, ground-covering Sedum, Coneflower (Echinacea), and Yarrow are all excellent choices. 

BORAGE

Borage

Borage is a favorite of mine because of its many benefits. It not only attracts beneficial pollinators like bees and birds but will bring essential insects to your garden for organic pest control.  It goes great interplanted with strawberries, tomatoes, beans, peas, and more!

Borage is easy to keep happy, and it does SO much for our hardworking friends in the garden. The bee’s absolutely love borage, and so do I! 

Known as an ornamental plant, borage is also edible and used for medicinal purposes, you can learn about borage from permaculture news.

Calendula

Calendula (or Pot Marigold) is one of the oldest of cultivated flowers and has a long history of being used for healing purposes. It’s used in my garden because it attracts essential pollinators that keep Mother Nature going. I love having a place that promotes a safe space for honeybees, bumblebees, and birds. I’m so impressed by calendula because it’s easy to grow and will self-produce. Leave the flowers to dry and the seeds will fall out to grow again when they’re ready to, likely coming back again the following year/season.

You can easily save the seeds by plucking them off when they’re dried and storing them. You’ll be able to grow them again the following year or try them out in pots. Collect seeds for family or friends to use. The seeds are really cool-looking. 

Zinnia

zinnia

Zinnia’s are very easy to grow, and have a long bloom season. They are an annual flower, producing long blooms. Great to cut for fresh flowers in the home!

Nasturtiums 

nasturtium flower

Nasturtiums are beautiful flowers. I’ve seen bees and hummingbirds loving these flowers. They are great climbing through fencing, flowing down around a planter or raised bed. They’ll grow in many garden conditions, including poor soiling. 

Annnnd yep! The flowers and leaves are edible, too, just like borage! 

Annual vs. Perennial flowers: Annual flowers will die off every year, whereas perennial varieties will grow back the next season. There are some annuals, though, that when they die off, the seeds drop and will self-germinate when they are ready again. (You may see this with calendula, and borage does this).

Now to growing Vegetables!

Radishes 

I’m not in love with radishes when it comes to eating them but growing them is a different story. They are absolutely incredible!  I’ll use radishes in soups, or on pizza but they are also good chopped raw into salads or veggie bowls. I know folks who’ll eat ’em raw, as is!

You will seriously be impressed by how easy they are to grow and care for. I’ve grown them in the ground, in beds, and in containers. You can grow a good amount in ONE SQUARE FOOT (read about square foot gardening here).

Radishes are a quick-to-grow vegetable that if you let flower, will produce edible pods that can be eaten! Much milder in taste, (which I prefer) and when left to flower, a radish will produce a pod filled with seeds to use for another time.  Plus, the small pretty flowers will attract bees and more to your garden. I like to let radishes flower, it’s a neat process. 

I haven’t had much success with beets, but recently heard and saw that you can grow them for the green tops they produce. So, beets will be in my plan for 2022, for sure, just for the tops!

Tomatoes 

tomatoes and peppers

Tomatoes (which are botanically known as a fruit)  were the first vegetable I decided to grow, and they really got me excited to start a veggie garden. In 2021 I grew so many varieties, probably too many if you ask my husband but I’m pretty sure he loves it because he knows tomato soup will be a frequent dinner option. 🙂

The more I work from home, the larger my growing area has expanded. Many of my tomatoes were in grow bags but had a lot of blossom end rot, so I will likely add larger pots for tomatoes next year. See, it’s all about experimentation, and I really have a lot of fun seeing the process. I’ve grown them usually in my raised bed I built or in the ground. 

I enjoy growing different tomato varieties such as ground tomatoes, the ‘champagne bubbles’ variety, roma and cherry tomato varieties. 

Beans 

pole beans
bush burgundy beans

Beans are an absolute powerhouse in my garden! By far the favorite vegetable I grow, I think! I grew beans for the first-time in 2020, and it was an instant favorite. Just watching a pole bean grow to ten feet tall if it wants and grow 6-inch-long beans… is really grounding and cool to me.

A personal favorite pole bean is called ‘rattlesnake’. Royal Burgundy beans are a bush variety but are a striking purple bean with high yield. Very pretty! It’s cool how when you cook with them, they turn green. Even the beautiful rattlesnake coloring disappears when cooked. Gone. Like MAGIC.

strawberry plant

Strawberries

We love to grow strawberries. And sure, a couple plants aren’t going to produce a replacement to picking them up at the store right away but going out and seeing a plump berry dangling down is very rewarding. Fun for kids, and our partners! (My husband loves it!) What’s great, they will return again, producing more runners which will lead to another strawberry plant. Read more about growing strawberries. 

Zucchini 

If you have the space, GROW zucchini (and other squashes)! Zucchini is so versatile; you can make a variety of different dishes with, and the plant will produce for a while. Zucchinis are more than just a vegetable, they’re also a delicious dessert! My favorite brownie recipe is made with zucchini! 🙂

This year I am growing Fordhook zucchini, easy to start early indoors or in a greenhouse. Zucchini is also successful when planting the seed directly into the soil.

Pumpkins

We love growing pumpkins, 2020 wasn’t a good year for them but this year I have a couple decent sized pumpkins and a few small ones that will be great on the front porch this year! If you have kids, these are fun to watch grow, and easy! Don’t be afraid of the space they take up and have fun learning how to grow pumpkins!

VERTICAL GARDENING

I know you might feel like you wanna plant it all, but if you have limited space, or just a deck… Learn about growing things that will vine up or out and create a trellis so things can grow vertically. Vertical gardening could be what works for your limited space.

Great plants for vertical gardening can be: beans, cucumbers, cucamelons (Mexican Sour Gherkins), snap peas, squash, Malabar spinach, melons, nasturtiums, tomatoes, tomatillos, thyme.

squash

HOW TO START YOUR GARDEN & WHERE TO BUY SEEDS

To start, look up your hardiness zone, create a plan for your space or pots, and then buy seeds or get starts at your local farmers’ market or store, and get planting.

I like using seedsaver as a place to shop for seeds, and I find many seed packets on eBay as well! Check your local nursery, support your local farmers or garden store. To save, wait for when gardening items and seeds are on sale once the growing season is over.

Let us know what you’re excited to plant or do this year in your garden!

Time to get dirty! 😀 

Ashleyann

Resources for Gardeners

USDA Hardiness Zone 

Square Foot Gardening

Learn about seed saving

READ MORE ON A MULTI PASSIONATE LIFE

Comments

  1. Kimberly Juarez says

    Love how you are trying to help people with their yards gardens maybe you could say stuff like make ur garden alive with pretty wind mills,or ceramic figurines,lights etc and u can get all that stuff at dollar tree seeds thier too anyways great job love 💕😘 you

    Reply

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