Flowers That Are Good to Plant Among Vegetables

Marigold

• Marigold flowers, both French marigold and Mexican, have multiple benefits to most vegetables, except beans and cabbage. Fragrant French marigolds repel white flies in tomatoes and other vegetables. The roots secrete a chemical that kills harmful soil nematodes. Mexican marigold has a particularly strong aroma that repels bean beetles and may also deter wild rabbits from your garden. Plant marigolds close to and throughout your tomatoes plants and other vegetables for best results.

Bee Balm

• Bee balm, or bergamot, is an attractive flower that attracts pollinators, like hummingbirds and bees, to your vegetable garden. The plant contributes essential nutrients that improve growth and flavor, particularly for tomato plants. Grow perennial bee-balm plants close to flowering vegetables that rely on bees for pollination for abundant produce.

Nasturtium

• Fragrant and colorful nasturtium is an ideal companion plant for vegetables and other flowering plants. Nasturtium has an aroma that attracts hoverflies, which attack aphids, plus nasturtium repels whiteflies, squash and cucumber beetles and pests from the cucurbit family. The colorful plant is a low-maintenance, easy-to-care-for flower that not only repels pests but attracts predatory insects to your vegetable garden. Nasturtium is particularly beneficial to vegetables in the cabbage family. As an extra bonus, nasturtium is an edible plant, often used in salads and as garnishment.

Geranium

• Not only does planting geraniums among your vegetables add a splash of color, but the distinct aroma of the flowering geranium repels cabbage worms, red spider mites, leaf hoppers, mosquitoes and corn earworms. While repelling harmful pests, the geranium also attracts pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Larger geranium plants shade vegetables that prefer less sun and heat, such as spinach, lettuce and carrots, extending the growing and harvesting time of those vegetables.