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RE: The Unplanned, Satisfying Growth of Our Food Forest
I think our garden may currently be in a similar state of evolution. I didn't realize the purpose of the flowers was to draw more polinators - my instinct is to keep things clean and neat to try to cut down on pests and weed problems, but it's an interesting thing that my cucumbers have often struggled from under-polination. We have a honeybee hive somewhere in our area because I often see the honeybees; I'm wondering now if adding some bee balm or other bee draws would be a good idea in the orchard area of the garden. I've been trying to stay practical and not get drawn into growing flowers (my first and best gardening success) but I wonder if I might've shot myself in the foot this way!
When I first started gardening, I was thinking the same thing you are "why waste garden space by growing flowers when I am trying to grow food". I quickly realized no flowers means no food. The number one reason people are not successful growing fruit or vegetables is no pollinators. I learned that you must have a varieties of flowers that can bloom at different times, so you have food for pollinators all year long. I now recommend to people who are new to gardening to plant flowers first, then food. If you bring in more diversity, you will be more successful in your garden.
Heh, this is a great reason to get back to growing flowers!