Flowers Not To Plant With Vegetables

by Paul Ciocoiu · Published June 24, 2015 · Updated June 24, 2015

A vegetable garden with flower borders is an eye pleasing landscape. But not all the time veggies and flowers go well together and this is why it is recommended you pay attention to what sort of combinations you resort to in the garden. Below are several flowers not to plant with vegetables, as recommended by Homeguides.sfgate.com.

First of all, many types of flower bulbs look like onions. While most types of bulbs won’t harm you, they don’t taste good. Daffodils and tulips contain toxic alkaloids that can cause abdominal upset, dizziness and convulsions. The bulb is the part of the plant that contains the highest concentration of the alkaloid. Therefore, avoid the possibility of pulling up a bulb thinking it’s an onion and consuming it.

Flowers not to plant with vegetables in the garden

Flowers not to plant with vegetables – daffodils

Flowers not to plant with vegetables – daffodil bulb

At the same time, avoid associating vegetables with plants that are deemed invasive, such as oleander. Please note that, besides that, oleander is highly toxic. The yellow lavender, for instance, produces seeds that, if swallowed by humans, can cause death. Foxglove also produces toxic flowers, stems, seeds and leaves. Some flower seeds are toxic, even though their relatives are safe to eat. For example, the sweet pea looks like English peas when growing and blooming, but the peas, namely the plant’s seeds, are toxic.

Flowers not to plant with vegetables – oleander

Flowers not to plant with vegetables – sweet pea

Other plants, including flowers, hinder the growth of vegetables. For instance, beans do not go well with gladiolus and neither do peas, even if the latter are cool season vegetables and the former bloom in summer. At the same time, if you think of using the stems of sunflowers would be a good idea for pole beans to use as a support, but sunflowers hinder the growth of pole beans as well as potatoes.

Flowers not to plant with vegetables – gladiolus

Most of the vegetables, except mushrooms and rhubarb, grow well in full sun, ideally for a minimum of six hours per day, to thrive. Those that fruit, such as tomatoes, beans, peas and peppers grow better with even more sunlight. This is why tall flowers can shade vegetable plants, so while they’re not toxic or companion enemies, it’s not a good idea to plant tall flowers as a border for the vegetable garden. In this case, better choices would be nasturtiums, marigolds or petunias, which are companion friends to beans, cabbage cucumbers, melons and potatoes.