Lots of people on here mix veggies and flowers. I think it's lovely. I don't have too many in with my flowers, though inevitably I buy too many pepper and tomato plants and they end up sharing. I also have two blueberry bushes growing in my cottage garden. (I've had them for years, but have never tasted one. Drated birds and chipmunks! haha)

Go for it.

Have you heard of winter sowing? If you are on a budget, its a great way to fill in the empty spots! I really reccomend it to everyone! Its super easy, and the cost will be potting mix, seeds and thats it! If you check out the forum,the FAQ are really helpful. I can send you some seeds i recieved from others, if you post an ad on the seed exchange im sure you will find people are super generous.
I dont really eat veggies so ive never tried growing them. But let me know if winter sowing interests you! Its a great thing to pass the crummy winter by! PS- you can winter sow veggies as well, i think you start them later though.

Oh Geez, im sorry! I just read a post you made on the what to buy more of next year topic, saying you ws. Ooops! Im so excited about wintersowing i think its the solution to everything! Lol nevermind!

Quilt_mommy- I planted bush beans in with my snapdragons, alyssum, stock, zinnias and marigolds and it looked great. I also tucked in a few tomato plants and some peas along the back.

This year, I'm going to try pole beans mixed with climbing flowers on some arches along the back of the garden and put some lettuce and spinach under the arches, where it's shady. It would also be a nice place for shade-loving flowers, if you prefer.

I really like mixing veggies with flowers. Not only is it pretty, but it brings in lots of beneficial insects to your garden :)

I have peppers in with the flowers, but tend to use herbs as fill more than veg. There's parsley, basil and cilantro tucked here and there throughout the garden.

I have planted gourds and sunflowers together before. It's a nice combination. The gourds plants climb the sunflowers and the tangle keeps the sunflowers standing tall even when it get really windy.

Lynda

Lavendar_Lass - thank you for the info that makes me feel a bit more confident. I hope you will share pictures of your garden next year, it sounds like it's going to be amazing!

Quilt_mommy- I'm a firm believer in whatever you decide to do in the garden, it should be what YOU like. Everyone has different styles and that's great, but I tend to like things mixed up a bit. I like perennials in with the roses (and some herbs) and flowers, herbs and even some fruit in with my vegetables. I also tuck in veggies with flowers. We have a short, but hot, growing season and I have to get as much out there as I can (LOL) I also want it to look nice and somewhat orderly (so I can find what I'm looking for once everything starts filling out).

I'm excited to take pictures this year (I didn't last year and with I had). I hope you'll post some of your garden too. I'm sure it will be beautiful :)

lilyfinch - no worries, I too am so excited about gardening this year that my family quickly tries to change the subject when I start on plants before I pull them into an uninvited hour long demonstration of how I winter sow my sweet peas. Sometimes it's just hard to zip it when you're into something. You're in good company. ;)

lavendar_lass - I agree and thank you for the encouragement. My garden is small compared to most of the photos you see here on garden web, but I will have to post some pictures of last year at the very least. :)

Don't forget to plant a border of lettuce. Some of them are gorgeous. I used Lollo Rossa (a very dark red) and Buttercrunch and Red Sails last year and I loved the way it looked plus I put them right outside the back door in a near flower bed. Green onions could be interspersed for a taller spikey contrast. Spinach would look pretty too. Another is Bull's Blood beets which are good for the tops as well as the roots.

I think peppers is a very good choice. They look good right up to frost.

A beautiful pole bean is Cherokee Trail of Tears. It has a pink bloom and the pods turn purple. Picked young it makes a very tasty, stringless green bean.

I want to congratulate you on wanting to grow some edibles. You will be amazed what you can grow tucked in here and there.

Another thing to grow in large pots is carrots. The ferny tops look very pretty in the middle of some vining petunias.

Oh yes! Last year I put up a couple of bamboo trellises in the bare spots and grew peas and pole beans. They were really pretty mixed in with the roses and glads. I also always tuck in some tomatoes and herbs right next to the patio.

The only problem I've ever had with tucking in veggies is then forgetting a perennial that grows up too tall and shades the plant. I lost a couple of peppers that way a few years back.

gldno1 - oh yes, I will have to do lettuce, thank you for mentioning it. Now with lettuce, you can harvest it until it gets warm is that correct? Then the lettuce goes bitter? Will it be pretty until fall or am I going to want to pull it before then?

I am going to have to look for those cherokee trail of tears pole beans, they sound gorgeous! I grew carrots last year but the rabbits got to them first...pots are a good idea, maybe I can grow some too tall for the rabbits to get into. ;)

mayblooms - oooh with glads and roses that sounds beautiuful! Great idea! Thank you!

Lynda - peppers are so beautiful, I would love to try them. We are not big pepper or tomato eaters in our house - any suggestions for varieties good for a "salsa" garden?

The colorful Swiss chard varieties like Bright Lights and Rhubarb are beautiful in flower beds as well as the veggie garden.