I have overcome my lifelong fear of marigolds, and grown these beautiful Tagetes patula ‘Durango Red’ in my vegetable beds. When I was growing up, marigolds were the beasts of municipal planting, and they looked terribly miserable. I’m still not at all fond of bright orange and yellow cultivars, but these deep scarlet and gold-edged blooms are altogether better dressed.
But the real reason I have developed an interest in these plants is that they are real footsoldiers in the garden. Their foliage is a little pongy, which makes them rather anti-social towards whitefly and blackfly. Planting them around susceptible vegetables such as tomatoes, pumpkins and aubergines not only introduces bold splashes of colour, but also protects the crops from pest attack. Just make sure you choose your cultivar carefully…
Have a look at our feature on companion planting for more garden footsoldiers.
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