Allotment Flowers – The Best to Grow
Growing flowers on an allotment isn’t just about making the plot look pretty. The best allotment flowers attract pollinators, deter pests, improve soil health, and even provide cut flowers for the home. When chosen carefully, flowers can significantly boost fruit and vegetable yields while adding colour and structure to your plot.
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This guide covers the best flowers to grow on an allotment, why they’re useful, and how to include them effectively alongside crops.
⭐ Recommended Products for Growing Flowers on an Allotment
• Flower Seed Collections (Pollinator-Friendly & Cut Flowers)
Ideal for attracting bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects.
👉 Click to view flower seed collections on Amazon
• Seed Trays & Modules
Perfect for starting flowers early under cover.
👉 Click to view seed trays and modules on Amazon
• Multi-Purpose or Flower Compost
Supports healthy root development and strong blooms.
👉 Click to view compost on Amazon
• Plant Labels & Marker Pens
Helps track varieties across a busy allotment.
👉 Click to view plant labels on Amazon
• Garden Netting & Supports
Useful for taller flowers like sunflowers and sweet peas.
👉 Click to view garden supports on Amazon
Why Grow Flowers on an Allotment?
Flowers play a vital role on productive plots:
- Attract pollinators for fruiting crops
- Encourage beneficial insects that eat pests
- Distract pests away from vegetables
- Improve biodiversity
- Provide cut flowers for home use
A flower-rich allotment is usually a healthier and more productive allotment.
The Best Flowers to Grow on an Allotment
🌼 1. Marigolds (Calendula & Tagetes)
One of the most useful allotment flowers.
Benefits:
- Repel aphids and nematodes
- Attract hoverflies and bees
- Easy to grow and long-flowering
Grow around potatoes, tomatoes, and brassicas.
🌸 2. Nasturtiums
Beautiful, edible, and incredibly useful.
Benefits:
- Trap crop for aphids
- Attract pollinators
- Leaves and flowers are edible
Ideal for planting near beans, courgettes, and brassicas.
🌻 3. Sunflowers
Tall, bold, and excellent for wildlife.
Benefits:
- Attract bees
- Provide shade and shelter
- Seeds feed birds later in the year
Best grown on plot edges to avoid shading crops.
🌸 4. Sweet Peas
A favourite for scent and cutting.
Benefits:
- Attract pollinators
- Grow vertically, saving space
- Excellent cut flowers
Grow on trellis, canes, or netting.
🌼 5. Cosmos
Light, airy flowers perfect for busy plots.
Benefits:
- Loved by bees
- Long flowering season
- Tolerates poor soil
Great for filling gaps between crops.
🌺 6. Borage
One of the best pollinator plants you can grow.
Benefits:
- Extremely attractive to bees
- Edible flowers
- Improves nearby crop growth
Self-seeds freely—plant once and it often returns.
🌸 7. Phacelia
Often grown as green manure and flower.
Benefits:
- Excellent bee plant
- Improves soil when dug in
- Fast-growing
Ideal for empty beds or rotation gaps.
🌼 8. Cornflowers
Classic cottage-garden flowers with allotment value.
Benefits:
- Attract pollinators
- Excellent cut flowers
- Easy to grow from seed
Grow in borders or bed edges.
🌸 9. Alyssum
Low-growing but incredibly useful.
Benefits:
- Attracts hoverflies (aphid predators)
- Great ground cover
- Sweetly scented
Perfect around brassicas and lettuce.
🌺 10. Zinnias
Bright, bold, and productive.
Benefits:
- Excellent cut flowers
- Attract pollinators
- Thrive in warm summers
Best grown in sunny spots.
🌼 11. Poppies
Easy, beautiful, and beneficial.
Benefits:
- Attract bees
- Self-seed naturally
- Thrive in poor soil
Scatter seeds where space allows.
🌸 12. Chamomile
Pretty and practical.
Benefits:
- Attracts beneficial insects
- Can be used for herbal tea
- Helps neighbouring plants
Grow near herbs and salads.
Best Perennial Flowers for Allotments
If you want low-maintenance flowers that return every year:
- Echinacea – pollinators and long-lasting blooms
- Rudbeckia – late-season colour
- Aquilegia – early flowers for spring insects
- Lavender – bees and pest deterrence (if soil allows)
Perennials work best along permanent borders.
Where to Plant Flowers on an Allotment
Best placements include:
- Bed edges
- Plot boundaries
- Ends of rows
- Between slower-growing crops
Avoid planting tall flowers where they shade vegetables.
Annual vs Perennial Flowers (Which Is Better?)
Annual Flowers
- Quick results
- Flexible placement
- Easy to rotate
Perennial Flowers
- Long-term value
- Less yearly work
- Stable insect habitats
A mix of both is ideal.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using up too much growing space
- Letting tall flowers shade crops
- Ignoring self-seeding plants
- Planting flowers with no benefit
Always balance beauty with productivity.
Can Flowers Increase Vegetable Yields?
Yes—indirectly.
Flowers:
- Increase pollination
- Reduce pest pressure
- Improve overall plot health
The result is usually better-quality crops and fewer problems.
Best Flowers for Beginners on an Allotment
If you’re just starting:
- Marigolds
- Nasturtiums
- Calendula
- Cosmos
- Sunflowers
They’re easy, forgiving, and highly beneficial.
Final Thoughts
Flowers absolutely deserve a place on every allotment. When chosen wisely, they do far more than look good—they support pollinators, protect crops, and create a healthier growing environment overall.
By mixing practical flowers like marigolds and nasturtiums with cut flowers and pollinator favourites, you’ll enjoy a plot that’s more productive, more resilient, and far more enjoyable to spend time on.
Grow flowers with purpose—and your allotment will thank you.