The benefits of Companion Planting - Herbs and Flowers

Companion planting is the method of using mother nature to either ward off 'bad' bugs or encourage 'good' bugs to help benefit the plants and crops you are growing. Below are the herbs and flowers to use in your garden.


Borage
Plant with tomatoes and strawberries to increase growth and flavour. Borage flowers are not only edible they are great for atracting bees for polinating.

Garlic
Garlic is one of the plants that you should use as a dot plant round your garden. It gets on with most of your veggies apart from peas and beans as this will stunt there growth and some say not to put it with sage or parsley to. Garlic will repel aphids from your vegetables and do very well planted with Marigolds or Tagetes.

Marigold Pot Calendula
Not many bugs like this plant as they have tiny hairs all over their stems, which makes it hard for the bugs to walk across. They have stunning orangy/yellow flowers which will attract the beneficial bugs like Ladybirds Hoverflys and Lacewings which love Aphids! Dead head regulaly otherwise they will spread at a whoping rate!

Nasturtiums
Planted pretty much anywhere in your garden they will attract the apdids away from your veggies. Their pretty colourful flowers will attract the beneficial bugs in to eat them. If planted in your green house with your toms they ward off white fly.

Wormwood
Use as a dot plant around your garden to help attract Aphids and Flea beatles away from your veggies. Then their pretty yellow flowers will also attract beneficial bugs like Lacewings and Ladybirds to feed on what they attract! Clever plant!

Mint
Plant mint in pots and place around your veggies like your cabbages toms and carrots, this will repel flea beatles and ants hate it too.

Tagetes
Use as a dot plant all around your garden! They have brightly coloured flowers ranging from yellow/orange and red and have a very strong pungent smell. This smell helps to repel white fly and when planted near cabbages reduces the number of cabbage moth damage because they are unable to smell the cabbages. The flowers not only look great but they help attract the beneficial bugs like hoverfly’s which eat aphids.