Daughter asked me -- don't you plant any flowers?

[applestar]

My daughter asked me, "Don't you have any flowers planted in our garden?".

So I said, "Well of course, I do. Look around -- we have all kinds of flowers! those are beet flowers, and these are pea flowers. Those pink ones are daikon flowers...".

She said, "No, I mean flower flowers. NOT edible plants."



Well I have those too, but take a look at these Red Russian Kale blossoms in my Front Yard Edible Landscaping -- aren't they sweet and .. really ... kind of dainty but stately and gorgeous in front of the 5' picket fence?

[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/0b26e68e.jpg[/img]
...best part is most of my neighbors will have no idea what these flowers are.

[albucsfan]

That's sweet!

Better half took out little girl (4) to Home Depot with him for something, and she announced that she needed plants....so she could have her own garden.

She picked out 2 tomato plants a zuchini and watermelon...so now I have to dig a new patch for her to put them in. Too stinkin' cute!

This is the same girl whe insisted that we plant radishes because they were pink...she doesn't like them, but they hers and they are pink, that's all that matters

[rainbowgardener]

They are really pretty, applestar. They could pass for flower flowers...

@albucs... that's really cute. I love to see people involving their kids in gardening.

[Duets]

Yes, me too. I have twin son's [hence, my name Duets] who love to help me in the garden. One of them has chosen mint, hmm...chocolate, spearmint, citrus, & orange. He loves the way they smell. My other son luvs the tomatoes & peppers. They both enjoy watching all of the frequent changes that take place in the garden. Their next mission is to put out lady bugs in the garden, they can't wait (they love lady bugs, lol)

Update: the boys put out some 1,500 lady bugs from a container into the garden this evening, they had a blast!

They are really pretty, applestar. They could pass for flower flowers...

@albucs... that's really cute. I love to see people involving their kids in gardening.

[Duets]

Your kale is simply gorgeous!!

My daughter asked me, "Don't you have any flowers planted in our garden?".

So I said, "Well of course, I do. Look around -- we have all kinds of flowers! those are beet flowers, and these are pea flowers. Those pink ones are daikon flowers...".

She said, "No, I mean flower flowers. NOT edible plants."



Well I have those too, but take a look at these Red Russian Kale blossoms in my Front Yard Edible Landscaping -- aren't they sweet and .. really ... kind of dainty but stately and gorgeous in front of the 5' picket fence?

[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/0b26e68e.jpg[/img]
...best part is most of my neighbors will have no idea what these flowers are.

[applestar]

Thanks! It's great fun when your kids take interest/gets involved in the garden. They will have so many chances to observe and explore the natural world too. When they were younger, I used to play a game with them to collect all the different leaves or all the different flowers. And feel, smell, taste (if not toxic), etc. Mint is great for attracting all kinds of nectaring insects when they bloom. You may see some wasps and other bugs that you haven't noticed before.

My other daughter loves the idea of edible flowers and nibbles on all of the ones I give the OK for. When she tasted the pea blossoms, her eyes lit up and she said, "They taste like peas!"

Kale flowers have a hint of sweet if you can pick them before the bees have taken all the nectar, but daikon flowers and mustard flowers are peppery and sharp. Apple blossoms (you can see some behind the fence in the photo), violets, dandelions.... All make wonderful addition to salad.

Then we have the native rhodo's blooming right now as well as the native honeysuckle and aquilegia -- all great for tasting the sweet nectar if you can get to them before the bees and hummingbirds do....

[rainbowgardener]

Trumpet creeper flowers when they bloom are great for that. Pull the flower out from the base and suck the drop of nectar out from the bottom. Very sweet! No wonder the bees and hummingbirds love them.