Are you looking for a natural way to control pests and diseases in your garden? Consider planting flowers to repel unwanted pests away without using chemicals. These flowers use their fragrance, colors, or oils to keep bugs away from your crops.
If you are new to companion planting, you need to identify flowers that will benefit your garden. These insect-repelling flowers tend to be hardy and have large, bright booms. You can count on them to get rid of insects such as aphids and mosquitos.
The fun part is that the flowers are safe for pets and children. Here are five flowering plants you should consider:
1. Marigolds
Marigolds are among the popular flowering plants you can plant around your garden. They are also cheap to obtain and boast vibrant orange hues. You can count on them to attract beneficial insects to pollinate your plants and repel harmful pests.
Scented varieties of marigolds are natural insect repellents. The French Marigold, in particular, can keep whiteflies away from your tomatoes and improve soil health.
Most marigolds grow well in areas with full sun and need potting soil that’s at least 10 inches deep to thrive. As self-seeding plants, they drop seeds on the soil and can spread throughout your garden.
2. LavenderÂ
The lavender plant is known for its sweet-smelling aroma and delicate violet leaves. It is used to make lavender essential oil for topical products like lotions and massage oil.
Thanks to its strong scent, lavender can repel insects such as mosquitoes, fleas, flies, and moths. Lavandula angustifolia, to be specific, is an effective mosquito repellent.
3. Chrysanthemums
Also referred to as chrysanths, chrysanthemums are flowering plants with large impressive flower heads. They are available in a large spectrum of colors, such as red, purple, lavender, orange, yellow, and white.
Since the flowers contain Pyrethrin (a neurotoxin), they can repel and kill insects. The vibrant flowers also attract butterflies and bees to pollinate your garden crops. Their root nematodes can be used to repel unwanted Japanese beetles from the garden.
4. Clover
As an excellent cover crop, clover grows the same way as grass. You can use it to give your gardening soil a thin, cohesive green layer. With more than 300 varieties, the most popular one has tiny pink flowers.
White clover attracts parasitic insects such as whiteflies, scales, and aphids, thus drawing their attention away from your garden crops. They release toxic cyanide if the leaf tissues get damaged as a defense response to deter pests. You can plant clovers around your cabbage to repel aphids and cabbage worms.
5. Borage
Borage is a flowering plant whose leaves, flowers, and oil are used in herbal medicine. The seed oil helps treat skin disorders like itchy rash and eczema.
As an insect repellent, the flowers of a borage plant can prevent cabbage worms or tomato hornworm from invading your garden. They can also boost the disease resistance of your crops. Borage leaves and flowers can cause respiratory distress or intestinal upset when ingested by pets and other small animals.
Summing up Natural Pest Control
Pests, diseases, and weeds can cause serious harm to your garden crops when you fail to control them. Luckily, planting flowers discussed in this guide can keep your garden free of pests. These plants have vibrant blooms and aromatic scents that repel insect pests such as beetles, mosquitoes, and aphids.
Visit or Contact Menham Garden Center for your all-around gardening needs, from pest control to weed management. We have all the resources and tools to give your garden a fabulous makeover.