Better Together
Plants Helping Plants
I am integrating my herb plants into other gardens because so many herbs serve as perfect companion plants. Try planting roses and chives together. Gardeners have been planting garlic with roses for ages, because garlic is said to repel rose pests. Garlic chives and chives are just as repellent, and their small purple or white flowers in late spring looks great with rose flowers and foliage.
Plant cabbage and dill together. Dill is a great companion for cabbage family plants (like broccoli and brussels sprouts) The dill attracts the tiny beneficial wasps that control cabbageworms and other cabbage pests.
This is the same principle involved in the Three Sisters Garden. Some plants just do better together. The three sisters are corn, beans and squash.
The corn stalk serves as a pole for the beans, the beans help to add the nitrogen to the soil that the corn needs, and the squash provides a ground cover of shade that helps the soil retain moisture. Bean vines also help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to blowing over in the wind. Spiny squash plants also help discourage predators from approaching the corn and beans. The crop residue can be worked back into the ground at the end of the season. This plant threesome builds up the organic matter, improving the soil structure for next year’s crop.
