FOOD OR FLOWERS ?
My pathway into gardening was very much visual. My interest was lured away from interiors by the potential of creating beautiful, naturally powered outdoor environments.
As a designer, I was keenly aware of the impact spaces can have on a person’s state of well-being and my eyes were opened to the possibilities of experimenting with this outside. Initially, I was led by an obsessive attraction to airy, flower-focused planting above all else, something I am happy to report is now broadened by a healthy respect for trees, shrubs and structure.
Words and photography by Julia Atkinson-Dunn
My ‘vege’ garden which has seen mostly flowers until this year.
However, I can firmly say that getting my hands in the dirt was not triggered by my desire to grow food. Over the years the wonderful stacked vegetable garden that I inherited with this property has seen some pathetic attempts of food planting, mostly crowded by the ornamental plants I popped in there to take advantage of the all-day sun.
With the state of things this year and the depressing monthly letters advising a rise in mortgage rates, I have pulled myself together and am pleased to say that vegetables now have priority in that space (though I am not sacrificing the spots I have reserved for dahlias and the self-seeded crop of nigella that is roving around the edges).
My entry into gardening certainly feels a little back-to-front compared to the experiences of many of my peers. In all honesty, as I delved into the local gardening community on Instagram, I noticed an underlining vibe from those whose vegetable gardens were their primary focus. Dare I say it, there was a righteous tone with some declaring, “I grow food not flowers”. It still feels misguided to me – sort of like eating cake but leaving the icing because it’s not worth the effort despite the fact that, in combination, it completes the full experience.
I also found the almost evangelical preference of growing everything from seed as opposed to supplementing with the cheap and cheerful punnets from the garden centre kind of oppressive. Each to their own, of course, but surely utilising both options keeps gardening accessible in response to the demands of time and space available. In my experience, each method will throw unpredictable results, as is true with all gardening.
It was during lockdown that I received regular messages from people my age excitedly reporting that they were growing flowers for the first time. Many were not beginner gardeners, but keen vegetable growers that had never dared divert any effort into something so frivolous. Yes, an ornamental flower bed might not stock your fridge, but it feeds the soul in a way that broccoli just can’t.
In a casual discussion with a team member at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens this week, we touched on this subject, and he rightfully pointed out that the exclusion of flowering plants from a garden will negatively impact crops. Beyond the obvious that flowers attract important pollinators to aid in the fertilisation of vegetables and fruit trees, low yields can also be a reflection of their absence.
Flowers also attract beneficial predators to your patch with the likes of ladybirds, for instance, moving into nectar-rich spaces where they will pay you back by feeding on that annoying influx of aphids.
In my own garden, I observed a lot of birdlife this winter, likely due to my holding off on cutting back the crispy seed heads of my flowering perennials, which the birds gratefully snacked on.
As a slug issue arose thanks to my efforts at mulching with pea straw, I also lamented the huge mess the blackbirds were making by scattering it across the lawn. It didn’t initially occur to me that they were in fact dealing with my unwelcome slug population, and that the (albeit messy) bird activity had positively dealt with the problem. My seed heads encouraged their residence and, as a result, I reaped the rewards.
What I am getting at here is the “one or the other” stance of growing vegetables vs ornamentals tears us away from building a beautiful little ecosystem.
On observing the planting of more mature gardeners, I certainly notice that there are always, without fail, areas provided for both food and flowers. To them, gardening can’t be separated and is certainly not deemed more noble by the exclusion of one or the other.
So while I am inspired to plant more lettuce at the foot of my dahlias going forward, I hope that passionate vege gardeners might dip their trowel into growing some petals for their own pleasure, too.
This is an expanded version of the article featured in my Stuff ‘Homed’ gardening column for beginners , The Press, Dominion Post and other regional papers on October 27th 2022
All words and images are my own, unless otherwise credited.