Photo of the Month: November 2013

Nippon Daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum)

The Nippon Daisy can be temperamental here in zone 5a-6b. It's a late bloomer and has evergreen herbaceous foliage. A delight to see still flowering in early November.

Companion Planting - Vegetable Garden Planning

Companion planting is not complicated. It is so beneficial and should be a part of your vegetable garden planning.

When you group a lot of veggies and segregate them from other plants in your garden, you'll wind up making them an easy target for pests and you may deplete the soil if you replant the same vegetation year after year in the same place.  Planting them in smaller groups, among other companion plants, will introduce a whole variety of beneficial insects and or plant life that aid the growth of your veggies.

• Some plants fixate nitrogen in the soil - legumes and certain clovers do that well.

• Some exude chemicals from their root system that keep bugs away - Marigolds and Chrysanthemums are ideal.

• Some repeat in bloom all summer, which bring bees and other pollinators to the garden.

Here are great resource lists of companion, and incompatible plants you should know about.

It works for berries too

In the past, I've used these plants together with success:

• Nasturtium - with radish or lettuce
• Marigolds - with herbs
• Garlic or Campanula persicifolia - with roses
• Borage - with spinach, lettuce, cabbage
• Beebalm (Monarda) - with tomatoes
• Chrysanthemum - with strawberries

Now that my garden is so small, I have limited space to plant all sorts of companion plants. However, I am planting my veggies in with perennials and shrubs and I noticed the benefit last year and will do it again.