One of my missions is to bust the misconception that vegetable gardens aren’t attractive. I strongly believe that you can have a vegetable garden that produces a lot of food and is beautiful to look at.
Plant lots and lots of flowers among your vegetables. Annuals are my flowers of choice, although I also plant spring bulbs in my vegetable beds for some early season color.
Tucking flowers throughout your garden will add colorful pops of beauty to draw the eye into and around the space, attract tons of beneficial insects like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and impress your neighbors because they’ve never seen a vegetable garden looking so good!
In this article, I’ll share the best flowers for raised beds. This list features my absolute favorite flowers I’ve been growing in my vegetable garden for many years.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of harvesting a basket full of colorful produce you grew with your own two hands. If you know just what I’m talking about, then I’m pretty sure you’ll also love gathering a bright bouquet of cut flowers just as much.
Luckily, if you’re already a vegetable gardener, it’s incredibly easy to incorporate some flowers into your raised beds so you can harvest beautiful bouquets for yourself and friends all summer long.
Garden beds are a great way to start gardening, especially for beginners. They allow you to control the soil quality and drainage, making it easier to grow plants. But with so many options, how do you choose the best plants for raised garden beds?
I’ve been gardening for over 10 years now, and I want to share my top 15 recommendations for the best raised bed plants for beginners like me. These are relatively easy to care for, require little maintenance, and are suited for the controlled environment of a garden bed.
1. Tomatoes
You can’t go wrong with tomatoes in a raised bed. They love the loose, fertile soil and do well with the extra drainage The vining varieties are perfect for training up supports or cages Go for determinate tomatoes if you want a more compact plant. Some of my favorite tomato varieties for raised beds include Sungold, San Marzano, and Black Cherry.
2. Leafy Greens
Leafy greens like kale, lettuce, arugula, and spinach are great cool weather crops for raised beds. They prefer the richer soil and their shallow roots don’t need as much space. Succession plant for a continual harvest. Just be sure to provide some shade in the hot summer months.
3. Peppers
Bell peppers and chili peppers produce abundantly in raised garden beds. They enjoy the warmer, drier and well-draining soil Use cages, stakes or trellises to support the bushy plants once they’re weighted with fruits. Some top pepper varieties include Gypsy, Corno di Toro, Shishito, and Jalapeño
4. Beans
Green beans, especially bush varieties, are very productive in raised beds Pole beans will need trellising. Beans are also great for improving the soil due to their ability to fix nitrogen Plant every 2 weeks for steady picking. Try Provider and Blue Lake bush beans.
5. Beets
Beets thrive in the loose, fertile soil of a raised bed. The edible greens and roots appreciate consistent moisture and nutrients from quality garden soil. Beets are a beautiful addition with their range of golden, red, and striped roots. Golden and Red Ace are two of my favorite varieties.
6. Carrots
For long, straight carrots, raised beds can’t be beat. Carrots need loose soil to grow evenly, and the beds provide the perfect environment. Sow seeds densely, keep them consistently watered, and thin the seedlings for best results. Some top carrots include Danvers Half Long, Atomic Red, and Purple Haze.
7. Radishes
Perfect for beginners, radishes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. They germinate quickly and are ready for harvest in just a few weeks. Keep them consistently watered and harvest promptly for tender, mild radishes. Cherriette and French Breakfast are two radish varieties I recommend.
8. Herbs
Herb gardens are made for raised beds! You can control the soil characteristics to meet the needs of different herbs. Favorites like basil, parsley, thyme, sage, oregano, chives, and cilantro will thrive. Be sure to harvest often to encourage steady growth.
9. Strawberries
Nothing beats homegrown strawberries. Raised beds allow you to better control their vigorous growth and prevent the runners from taking over your whole garden. Alpine and Everbearing varieties will have a longer harvest window in garden beds.
10. Cucumbers
Raised beds provide the fertile, well-draining soil that cucumbers love. Train vining varieties up a trellis or stake, or choose compact bush types. Succession plant every few weeks for continual cucumber harvests. Some of my favorites are Marketmore, Piccolino, and Bush Pickle.
11. Potatoes
Potatoes can be grown easily in just a few square feet of raised beds. The key is hilling the soil mix over the plants as they grow. Raised beds give you more control over the ideal growing environment. Red Gold, Yukon Gold and Purple Viking are great starter potato varieties.
12. Broccoli
With adequate space for growth, raised beds produce an abundant broccoli harvest. Broccoli is a heavy feeder that thrives in the rich soil of a raised bed. Some top varieties for garden beds are Gypsy, Arcadia, and Green Magic.
13. Garlic
The biggest key to great garlic is soil quality and drainage. Raised beds allow you to create the ideal growing environment garlic loves. Plant the cloves in fall; you’ll harvest big, pungent bulbs next summer. Hardneck varieties like Chesnok Red and Music typically produce larger bulbs.
14. Onions
Onions and other alliums are perfect for raised garden beds where you can control soil fertility and prevent weeds. Use transplants for faster harvests. Red, white and yellow onions will thrive with consistent moisture and fed regularly.
15. Squash
Both summer and winter squash grow wonderfully in raised beds. Use small-fruited bush or compact vine types to maximize space. Acorn and delicata are great for small spaces. Maximize sunlight and provide plenty of room for sprawling vines.
Where To Buy Flower Seeds and Plants
Buying Seeds
If you already have a favorite seed company you should be able to find great varieties of flowers for raised beds in their catalog. Some of the varieties we talked about in this blog post are a little more difficult to find because they’re so unique.
But, due to the rising popularity of growing flowers, I have noticed that seed companies are expanding their seed selections to include more than just your average annual flowers.
If you prefer to support local and small seed companies and growers like I do, check out some of these seed sources.
Etsy: There are a lot of individual seed savers and growers on Etsy and they tend to carry many of the harder to find varieties. To save you time lots of time I created an Etsy list featuring many of the varieties from this post. Check it out here.
Floret Flower Farm: A family-owned business in Washington state, this farm has been slowly breeding their own varieties and expanding the amount of seeds they offer each year.
They open their seed shop in early January and many of their most unique seeds tend to sell out very quickly. I’d suggest signing up for their email list so you get notification each year about the seed shop’s opening date. Find all of the seed varieties they offer here.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds: This Maine company is a favorite of organic farmers all over the US. Their vegetable, flower, and herb seeds are focused on high-performing varieties. I order many of my seeds from here.
If you want to grow cut flowers this season you won’t be disappointed if you order from them. See their offerings here.
Botanical Interests: This Colorado company has been selling herbs, seeds, and flowers for 25 years. They also have a robust seed donation program I utilized when I ran youth gardening programs for a local non-profit in Madison. Check out their flower varieties here.
Amazon: Although it might be more convenient for you to purchase your seeds from Amazon, I struggle with their platform because it’s difficult to know who exactly is selling the seeds I’m purchasing.
While looking for varieties when writing this article I discovered one of the vendors had stolen photos from the Floret Flower Farm website to use in their listing. It’s the Wild West on Amazon sometimes.
I know it’s convenient to purchase from Amazon, so I do provide lists of my favorite garden tools, vegetable varieties, and more in my Amazon shop.
Buying Plants
Even though I start many of my flowers for raised beds at home in winter, I also make a few trips to the farmers market and local nurseries just to see if they have anything that can tempt me into trying it out.
If you don’t start seeds at home, or don’t have room to start flowers, I suggest buying annual flowers from local sources near you. I particularly love purchasing plants from farmers in my area who I know are growing these exact plants in their own fields.
You can read more about where where to buy vegetable plants.
Favorite Flowers for Raised Bed Gardening
Zinnias
Nothing screams summer more than a handful of cheery zinnias. Available in a brilliant rainbow of colors, these cut-and-come-again plants are essential for any flower-loving gardener.
As one of the easiest flowers to grow, they are perfect for beginning gardeners. They also do well in a wide range of climates and growing zones.
Favorites include:
Lots of cool zinnia varieties in this Etsy shop here.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Black-eyes Susan is commonly seen in perennial and prairie gardens in the Midwest where I live. The good news is that you don’t have to be a perennial flower gardener to grow rudbeckias (as they are also known).
The photo above features the best Black-eyed Susan I’ve ever grown – Prairie Sun. Instead of a black eye (or center), it has more of a green center and two-toned petals featuring complementary yellows.
I’ve also tried and liked
Cherry Brandy (maroon instead of yellow)
Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena globosa)
I’ve been planting Globe Amaranth as a companion to my vegetables for as long as I can remember. I often rotate the flowers I grow each year, but this one is always on the list!
Many of the varieties are tall and airy, so you easily mix them with your vegetables and they won’t crowd them out.
The blooms last way past your first frost and hold their color when dried so you can use them for winter bouquets as well.
I love Strawberry Fields Gomphrena mixed with Prairie Sun Rudbeckia in the same garden bed. The red and yellow colors pop against each other and the vastly different forms of the plants complement each other well.
This Etsy shop has some fun varieties of Gomphrena.
Tall or Purple Top Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)
There are various verbenas out there, but this one is my favorite by far. It’s tall and airy, so I love mixing it will other flowers and vegetables. The insects and pollinators love it and I’ve seen many a butterfly enjoying the flowers. It blooms for a long time – from July until frost.
I’ve tried to start seeds at home without much luck, so I usually purchase a few seedlings at my local nursery in spring. It does re-seed itself pretty aggressively, so I often find little seedlings sprinkled around my garden in late spring. They don’t bother me though. I let some of them grow and weed out the rest.
Nasturtium
Until a few years ago, I had no idea that climbing nasturtiums existed! I stumbled upon some seeds while looking around online, ordered them as an experiment, started the seeds in the winter, and planted the seedlings at the foot of my turquoise tuteur (photo below).
my surprise and delight upon discovering them slowing climbing up and up throughout the season, all covered in flowers. I fell in love with them! Now I plant several different varieties on the tuteur and at the foot of my cattle panel trellises.
There are also mounding nasturtiums, which I also plant some years. In my garden they tend to get huge and sprawling, so sometimes I skip planting them for that reason.
In the last few years, I’ve noticed many more interesting and unique varieties being introduced. Some of my favorites:
Salvia
If you want a hummingbird magnet in your garden, then scatter some Lady in Red Salvia throughout your raised beds. It continues to bloom all summer long into fall and I also love this one mixed with the yellow flowers of Prairie Sun Rudbeckia.
There are lots of colors of salvia out there, but the red and blue are my favorites.
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FAQ
What is best to plant in a raised garden bed?
Raised beds are the ideal place to grow edible plants like herbs, leafy greens, root crops, and fruit for everyday use. You’ll be amazed at how many plants you can fit in each raised bed. Here’s why: Raised beds filled with nutrient-rich soil allow kitchen gardeners to practice something called intensive planting.
What plants are good for plant beds?
In addition to perennials flowers like coneflowers, black-eyed Susans and daylilies, plant perennial herbs, ornamental grasses and flowering shrubs for added height and texture. You can pop in annual flowers for extra color in-between bloom time. Spacing is very important when working with perennials.
What are the best low maintenance plants for gardens?
A few of our favourite low maintenance plants include Buxus Balls, Cordylines, Eucalyptus, Fatsia Caster Oil, Ornamental Grasses and Palms and each of these plants are hardy and evergreen meaning you will have all year round structure within your garden displays.
What are the best bedding plants that last long?
Bedding plants that flower for the longest time include cosmos, begonias and geraniums. Check the plant label for flowering times when you buy. Another thing to consider is how much maintenance your plants will need.