Often when new gardeners start out, there’s a huge focus on edibles and harvests, and the flower garden falls by the wayside. However, there are so many beneficial flowers which will boost your garden in health, happiness and harvest! I’ve gathered together some of my most highly recommended beneficial flowers, which you might like to introduce to your backyard.
Many experts suggest planting a border of flowers around the edge of your garden, but I also encourage you to plant some flowers in the vegetable garden itself. This can attract beneficial insects directly to where they’re needed, and increases the chance that beneficial insects will locate pests on your crops and keep things in balance. Plus it’s super pretty.
Marigolds – The popular kid
This is usually the first beneficial flower people reach for, and for good reason. She’s a real multipurpose powerhouse of good times in the garden.
Marigolds entice beneficial predators like ladybugs and lacewings that help control pest populations. They are great companion flower to tomatoes particularly, as their scent helps to deter whitefly, and they are useful as catch crops for earwigs which seem to enjoy hiding in and eating the flowers. Marigolds also help eliminate nematodes in the soil!
They are easy to grow from seed. And of course, they’re gorgeous.
Chrysanthemum – Pretty and Potent
Chrysanthemums are both charming flowers, and useful pest control tools. They make a great companion plant by repelling aphids, leafhoppers, spider mites, root nematodes, cabbage worms and other pests. I also find these seem to attract slugs and snails away from my leafy greens at night. Double win!
These are also the same plants used for making pyrethrins, which is a main ingredient in a lot of our garden pest control products.
Chrysanthemums are a beautiful cut-flower coming in a range of colours, styles and sizes. There will certainly be an option to suit your garden!
Sunflowers – Our Shining Stars
Who can resist smiling at the sight of a sunflower? They are great for enticing beneficial predators that help manage pest populations and enticing us gardeners outside to care for our plants!
Passionvine hoppers are particularly fond of sunflowers, which means you can use them as a sacrificial crop and plant them to attract the little buggers off your edible crops.
Sunflowers bring a lot to the table, delivering long after their looks have faded too, with great heads of seeds that make excellent bird feed. They can be grown between rows of veges and the only maintenance required is a bit of leaf pruning to keep the sun shining through to the crops below.
Allysum – Understated and Underrated
The smell of these little white flowers is just like perfume! While they’re incredibly charming, in a cottage garden kind of sense, they’re also compact and fit well in amongst other crops.
They draw in many beneficial predators that help manage pest populations, and encourage bees in to help with pollination. I have these all over my garden, they’re super low fuss and love them!
Nasturtium – Enthusiastic Participants
Nasturtiums are a real feast for the bees, with their bright and sweet yellow blossoms, and they make a great companion plant too. Nasturtiums particularly lure in the white butterflies (that lay destructive caterpillars) away from your vulnerable crops.
They are also entirely edible! From the leaves to the flowers to the super-spicy seedpods. Throw them in a salad, on a burger, whatever you like – as long as the caterpillars have left you some!
Calendula – Bright and Cheerful
Calendula are a stunning blossom in the garden. But their charming appearance hides a sticky secret. Calendula exude a sap that traps pests like aphids and whiteflies, keeping them off of nearby crops.
It also attracts many types of pollinators and beneficial insects like ladybugs, hoverflies, and green lacewings who enjoy not only the flower nectar, but also the buffet of their favorite pests, to keep your veges happy and healthy!
