Plant beneficial and edible flowers around your vegetables to help them grow - and make your garden pretty.
From now on, I can’t get away with being messy with my veg gardening. All the borders producing food are in plain sight in my back garden, and because I’m proud and like everything to earn its keep visually, this means the veg borders must be pretty. Here’s how I made my outdoor tomato bed fit that demand.
I planted the tomatoes in a neat line, and staked them with strong but neat wooden poles. Then I planted a number of flowers from the companion planting pack that Organic Plants sent me - borage, nasturtiums and calendula - on either side.
These plants aren’t just pretty. They aren’t just edible flowers that I can add to salads, drinks and breads. They’re also companion plants, which benefit the vegetables growing around them in a number of ways. They attract beneficial insects, prevent a monoculture where pests and diseases can spread quickly, and deter certain pests by masking the scent of the plant.
Normally, I’d plant tagetes with tomatoes, and I have elsewhere in the garden. But this is a good salad border: when the tomatoes ripen, I’ll add borage, calendula and nasturtium to the salads I serve them in. And then everyone will be happy.
Loving this post, companion planting is something my father in law has been explaining to me. I love how you can grow more and it looks lovely at the same time!
Will check out that companion pack ready for next year!
Thanks for joining in and sharing x
This is a great post and something I really need to think about for next year. We’ve been overrun with pests in certain areas of the garden and I think this could really help. Planted nasturtiums for the first time this year, love them!
Gosh, I have so much to learn! It looks so lovely too and beneficial. One day I’ll get it sussed!
lovely post, I have an old book called companion planing by Bob Flowerdew, it is fascinating. great to see it in practice
Wish I had the space for something like this. Some great information and it looks and sounds great.
Great post! Beautiful photos xxx
I’m sure your garden is just lovely. We plant calendulas at the fenceline since it’s one of the few plants that the cows in the paddock won’t eat
Your photo’s are gorgeous and I love the ideas you have for companion planting.
This is something I need to look into myself. I do most of my planting in containers so I’m not sure if I have the space for companion planting.