Growing Food: There is always a way

I advocate everyone growing some of their food, whether it be in their gardens or in their apartment balconies.  You can even grow beautiful flowering edibles.  Somehow, some people have the idea that edibles don't have pretty flowers.  There is so many options to chose from.  You will also get the added benefit of relaxing with your plants on top of getting something good to eat.  Just imagine yourself harvesting a lemon to make a drink, some turmeric and ginger to seasons your food or some vegetables for dinner - it feels great to be able to do so.  I rate the food growing options as below:

1. organically grown 
2. hydrophonic
3. grown with chemical fertiliser and pesticide
4. GMO (avoid at all cost)

There is a plant for everyone depending on the time and effort you want to put in.  Listed below are some examples and in no means an exhaustive list.  There are many others but it is presented to give you an idea.

If you can only plant in pots and want to have flowers, try:

1. Aubergine or brinjal - purple flowers with a yellow centre which when pollinated forms a purple fruit
2. Okra (Lady's finger or bendi) - yellow flower with a red centre which when pollinated turns into green okra
3. Cosmos dianthus (ulam raja) - pink flowers with yellow center
4. Roselle (Asam belanda) - pink flower with a maroon center which turns into dark red calyces
5. Turmeric - light green flower with the added benefit you can harvest the turmeric once it matures as you want them
6. Ginger - pink/purple flower with the added benefit you can harvest the ginger once it is mature as you want them.
7. Small galangal - spray of white/red small flowers
8. Varieties of chillies - white flowers and when the fruit forms, various colours.
9. Misai kucing - purple or white flowers
10. Calamansi - white flowers with the added benefit of green calamansi fruits
11. Lime - white flowers with the added benefit of green lime fruits
12. Lemon - white flowers with the added benefit of bright, yellow lemons when they mature
13. Varieties of tomatoes - yellow flowers and looks even better when the tomatoes have formed and ripened

If you want to plant in pots but want leaves only, try:

1. Cabbage
2. Cauliflower
3. Spinach - there are so many varieties from green, red/green and red color leaves in various shapes
4. Choy sum
5. Kailan
6. Kale - many varieties with different leaf shapes
7. Sambung nyawa batik
8. Aloe vera

If you want to have flowering on a trellis say your balcony railing or fence, try:

1. various varieties of cucumber - yellow flowers
2. mini pumpkins - yellow flowers
3. bitter gourd - yellow flowers
4. varieties of gourd - yellow or white flowers
5. long beans - white or purple flowers
6. french beans - pink flowers
7. Blue sweet pea (bunga telang) - blue flowers

All the above can be grown organically - using organic fertilisers and pest control.  If you have lots of space, and have options, then you can grow them all.  Happy gardening and producing great food :).