Can you mix flowers and fruit?

[ridingsixwhitehorses]

I have bought trough planters for my kids. About 8 inches deep and two foot long. I want them to have the delight of flowers and the gratification of something to eat.

can you coming flowers and fruit? Eg would forget me nots and strawberries work together?

google 'companion planting' and you'll get some ideas about what not to put together.

Btw- alliums have nice flowers, though technically veg.

I do it all the time marigolds work well as a sort of living border in my veg patch and garlic grows lovely and spiky in a window box

Yes - a lot of fruit and veg actually looks very beautiful. I think runner beans, for example, look stunning with their red or white flowers. If they weren't so associated with quite a dutiful veg, I swear they would be grown as ornamentals! For fruit, strawberries - especially the alpine kind - are pretty little things, Chilean guava and goji berry plants are also things you could happily grow as ornamentals, ditto for currants (you'll need a big pot!) and blueberries.

8" planters need shallow rooted plants. You also need to plant things that need the same condition
In one container, my idea would be a dwarf lavender for the bees, trailing nasturtium, very pretty and you can eat the leaves, thyme and camomile. Your children can run their hands over the planter to get all the lovely perfumed textures. If room add some Borage, it has beautiful blue flowers that can be put into drinks and ice cream

In the other I would plant lettuce, dwarf tomato, either trailing or upright and California poppies.

Oooh, well spotted about the depth kwirrell - I didn't notice that. Love the idea of a sensory/edible garden!

Other than depth, as others have said - of course you can mix anything you want - we do companion planting in our allotment (veg and flowers that compliment each other) but also just chuck in some flowers alongside the veg.

How about marigolds with ball carrots (i.e. ones that create a round rather than long thin carrot) and radishes? Fast growing, the marigolds help control carrot foot fly and carrots will also do well in pots. Agree with kiwrell that nastertiums would be good - my two LOVE the fact that you can eat the flowers in a salad (pepperly though) - and cherry tomatoes straight off the plant are yummy (watch the leaves with any very little ones though - smell of tomato but poisonous)

Strawberries are always nice - I'd personally go with alpine strawberries (little berries; longer fruiting time; the sweetest things you've ever tasted) - maybe with some herbs too - which are both pretty and edible: my two munch on herbs all the time. Mint; basil; chives; parsley....?

Thank you. Great ideas