Create a wild and wonderful garden with food and flowers

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It’s okay to go a little wild in your yard — actually, it’s essential for a healthy ecosystem in the garden.

Wildflowers, typically low maintenance and easy to grow, are an important component of supporting biodiversity, says Erin Berkyto, who shares the growing adventures of her Fraser Valley garden with more than 100,000 Instagram followers @theknottygarden and will be talking about how wildflowers complement food growing at this year’s BC Home + Garden Show.

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Berkyto was motivated to transform her backyard into a space that produces homegrown food for her family, while the front lawn has been converted into an “alternative lawn” of microclover and tall fescue grass that is drought and chafer beetle resistant. She also has a space dedicated to a wildflower pollinator garden.

“One of the biggest benefits of a wildflower garden is the diversity and variety of wildlife the plants will attract,” she says.

Black-eyed Susans, with their golden yellow blooms, are one of the popular wildflowers that contribute to biodiversity.

“It’s very hardy and fast-growing, and the seed head, left to mature, will feed the birds through fall and winter, so it’s a great multi-purpose flower,” says Berkyto, who also has many Shasta daisies, cornflowers, poppies and lupins in her landscape.

“I think the greatest benefit from wildflowers comes with native species of plants because you are going to be supporting native species of wildlife. One of the added benefits of growing wildflowers is that if you have fruits or vegetables in your garden, you are going to have a more productive garden because you are attracting pollinators and beneficial insects to your garden through wildflowers,” she says.

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But don’t just pick up any wildflower mix, she cautions, noting the potential risk of introducing non-native and invasive species.

“Just because it grows well or is recommended for one area doesn’t mean that it’s suited to another,” she says. “My preferred wildflower mix — Pacific Northwest Blend — is sold by a local seed company, West Coast Seeds, who have developed a mix that is specific to our geographic region.”

One of the biggest benefits of wildflowers is they don’t require a lot of time and attention, says Berkyto.

“They are intended to grow without human intervention, so they require less work from us to water, plant or to sow them. Often, they will self-sow. So you plant the wildflower garden once, and it continues to self-seed and replenish itself as it matures and grows. So my garden is rather wild. It’s beautiful, and it is full of flowers and of life,” she says.

In addition to her wildflower pollinator garden, Berkyto has filled the gaps throughout the rest of the landscaping near the food garden with wildflowers.

That’s where marigolds two-to-three feet high flourish alongside beans and tomatoes, and mounds of alyssum are companions to peppers and cucumbers.

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She grows a variety of veggies, including peas, beans, radishes, cabbages, kohlrabi, garlic, artichokes, onions, beets, asparagus and potatoes and nurtures many fruit-bearing trees and plants, including apples, pears, figs, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, gooseberries and goji berries.

Through the National Wildlife Federation, Berkyto has also had her garden rated as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. This designation requires the garden to meet certain criteria to support different wildlife species.

In addition to the natural food sources, a Certified Wildlife Habitat can also include supplemental food sources like birdfeeders in winter, she says, noting that resident hummingbirds live in the garden year-round.

“I have to be very careful about providing a constant source of nectar for them.”

But it’s not only about the furry and feathered wildlife, says Berkyto, referencing the Leave the Leaves movement that encourages gardeners to leave organic debris on the ground through the fall and winter because it provides valuable overwintering habitat for beneficial insects.

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She says the view over her garden is “breathtaking and colourful. I often describe it as fireworks of colour in the garden. There’s a succession of blooms. I find with wildflowers, you always have something blooming.”

To find out more about food gardening, don’t miss Berkyto’s presentation on the subject, which is part of The Vancouver Sun Gardeners’ School on the Garden Stage at this year’s BC Home + Garden Show, at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, from Feb. 8 to 11.

Erin Berkyto, Knotty Garden | Topic: Foodscaping: Plan & Design an Edible Landscape; Fri., Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. and Sat., Feb. 10 at 2 p.m.

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