There are so many positive reasons why you should be growing more flowers at your allotment plot. Flowers are one of the best ways of attracting more wildlife and pollinators to your allotment plot, which in turn will ensure you get the best possible harvest from your crops. But there are many additional reasons to grow more flowers at your allotment plot too!
- Flowers attract pollinators
We have to start with this one because it’s so important to attract pollinators to your plot if you want a great harvest! Pollinators are hungry and so the more native and longer flowering plants you can grow, the better.
Try adding seasonal flowers like tulips and dahlias to your allotment plot. This will provide pollinators with a longer flower season and give them vital food supplies at times of the year when it might be running low.
2. Flowers make more flowers
We all know that plants and trees absorb carbon dioxide through their leaves in a process called photosynthesis. So the more plants we have, the better for the health of the planet. Flowers are a plants way of producing seeds which in turn, grow into new plants! So the more flowers there are, the more seeds are produced for future plants!
Try growing self seeding flowers such as Californian poppies and borage. Even sunflowers can self seed, as long as you don’t accidentally pull them up in the spring time assuming they are weeds!
3. Flowers clean your soil
Not all flowers do this, but sunflowers are particularly well versed at cleansing your soil. Sunflowers are able to absorb radioactive materials and other pollutants from the soil without much harm to the plant. This means that in areas where radiation has been high, plants such as sunflowers may be planted in order to help clean up the environment. In addition to cleaning the soil, flowers and other plants also cleanse water. The root systems of many flowers and plants that live in streams, lakes, and other bodies of water often serve as filters to remove toxic metals and other chemicals from the water.
4. Flowers make us humans feel better
There’s a reason we buy each other a bunch of flowers for special occasions or just to show someone how much they mean to you. Flowers make us feel good.
Research has shown that just by being around flowers, our mood can be lifted. Being around flowers can also encourage compassion and similar emotions.
So there are many reasons why you should plant more flowers at your allotment plot! However, the way we look after flowers can impact on how beneficial they are. Organic gardening, or gardening without the use of pesticides and chemicals is best. So switching to a more organic way of gardening will really make sure the environment benefits from more flowers!
Happy Gardening!
