Flowers as companions

buttaflie143 on 4/8/2011, 7:01 am

Any thoughts on planting certain flowers in and around your garden to attract good bugs and deter bad ones?

dianamarie03 on 4/8/2011, 7:04 am

Do it! Not only do flowers like marigolds and alyssum repel pests, but they make your garden even more enjoyable to look at. Win-win in my book!

Old Hippie on 4/8/2011, 7:35 am

YES! YES! YES!

Besides making your garden look prettier, planting flowers attracts
bees, butterflies, etc. which help with pollination. Also, many of
these insects are declining for various reasons so need all the help
they can get. And you have the added benefit of observing more of
nature right up close.

I have one 4' square dedicated to flowers just because I love flowers. Lot of herbs have pretty flowers that the bees love......chives, borage, oregano.....so you have flowers, herbs and bees! A great combination.

Gwynn

quiltbea on 4/8/2011, 7:38 am

I've put nasturtiums and marigolds in some of the outside corner blocks of my beds the last two years. You can eat the nasturtiums in salads.

Here's some nasturtiums in one corner. They have a vining habit so be sure to put them in an outside block if you grow them so they can hang over the side.

Marigolds in another corner. They blossom later in the season right up to Halloween.
This year I plan to put a few other types inside the garden in a block here and there as I've seen in Mel's videos. Maybe some pansies, which are also edible, and for color, some red salvia and Dusty Miller for some silver. I'll see what seeds I can find, or young seedlings at bargain prices.

GreenBlueberry on 4/10/2011, 12:20 pm

Check out this list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants
I planted marigolds, borage and nasturtiums in my box. They will look pretty and are edible.

pelujilla on 4/10/2011, 2:09 pm

I saved this list! Thanks for sharing

Nonna.PapaVino on 4/10/2011, 2:27 pm

Be a bit wary of borage, if they love your soil, they can become a bit of a pest, with seedlings coming up EVERYWHERE, more than any place else. Having said that, judicious removal of seed cases can eliminate the problem. The flowers are a surprise in a salad, with their color and slight cucumber taste.

Old Hippie on 4/10/2011, 2:32 pm

That is true Nonna. I did leave a lot of them just because they attracted bees.

Gwynn

bettyd_z7_va on 4/10/2011, 2:43 pm

I LOVE flowers and found this GREAT book that is very informative on the subject.

She does not SFG, but uses raised beds with enriched soil and LOTS of flowers mixed in to attract good bugs and deter bad ones.

'Great Garden Companions' A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden by Sally Jean Cunningham Master Gardener, Cornell Cooperative Extension A Rodale Organic Gardening Book

I've gotten lots of ideas I'm going to incorporate into my gardens this year from this book.

(I love to read more than I love to garden. Some days I have to tear myself away from a book or this laptop to go garden!)

Betty

bettyd_z7_va on 4/10/2011, 2:49 pm

Thanks for the tip, Nonna.

I have some borage I grew from seed I'm putting in the veggie garden as well as 'here- n- there' in the flower beds because I love the color of the flowers.

I will watch out for the re-seeding becoming a problem.

That's why I love this forum. I learn so much from others taking the time to share their experiences.

Betty

Nonna.PapaVino on 4/10/2011, 5:42 pm

Hey, Betty, the volunteer borage plants are easy to spot and flip out of the soil. It's truly a "seed-once-and-enjoy-forever" plant. Another plant that "keeps on giving" is forget me nots. I spent at least six years spotting and digging out those volunteers from an initial, ignorant, sowing!

Goosegirl on 4/10/2011, 6:41 pm

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:Hey, Betty, the volunteer borage plants are easy to spot and flip out of the soil. It's truly a "seed-once-and-enjoy-forever" plant. Another plant that "keeps on giving" is forget me nots. I spent at least six years spotting and digging out those volunteers from an initial, ignorant, sowing!

+1 on the forget-me-nots! They NEVER LEAVE so you have a chance to forget them! lol!

TC/GG

Old Hippie on 4/10/2011, 6:45 pm

And they have nasty little burr seeds as well. The flowers are pretty but I don't want them in my yard at all.

Gwynn

bettyd_z7_va on 4/11/2011, 1:31 am

I'll make sure I don't even walk by a pack of Forget Me Not seed!

They sound bad!

burr seeds? - I have Grandbabies and they don't need burr anything.

Betty

FarmerValerie on 4/11/2011, 5:37 am

Cosmos and Marigolds will re-seed too, that's why it's key to deadhead your flowers.

A note about Marigolds, dwarf has nothing to do with the size of the plant, everything to do with the size of the flower. Keep it trimmed if you don't want it to get to big.

Flowers as companions