I can't imagine not planting a garden without companions for each other.  We all need companions for a healthy and happy life!  People and plants!

Choose a range of plants so you have flowers throughout the growing season to attract bees, butterflies, hover-flies, ladybugs and lacewings to your garden.  Grow open structured types flowers (calendula, marigolds, poppies) that have short feeding tubes as well.  This makes the pollen more accessible for beneficial insects like the hover-fly.  Let herbs and vegetables that develop umbel flowers such as carrots and fennel grow and seed, which attract bees and birds. 

Some great herbs to plant in and around your garden that attract beneficial insects include basil, bergamot, borage, bronze fennel, chamomile, coriander, dill mint, oregano, lavender, parsley, rosemary, thyme, bee-balm and yarrow.  All of these are beautiful and useful in and out of the garden.  

Here are some great ideas to try in your companion vegetable garden:

• Marigolds can deter insect pest from cabbage, kohlrabi and other brassica crops.
• Cabbage family likes aromatic plants and herbs like nasturtiums, rosemary, onions.
• Plant onions between rows of carrots to deter the carrot-fly.
• French marigolds help keep eelworms away from potatoes and peanuts.
• Radishes help repel cucumber beetle from cucumbers and even squash.
• Sage will help repel against cabbage looper and even improve the flavor of cabbages.
• Borage planted between tomato plants deters tomato hornworms. 
• Plant tansy or catnip next to squash plants to help repel squash bugs.
• Nasturtiums planted between tomatoes discourage beat leaf hoppers that can cause curly leaf virus. 

Encourage a healthy environment and you will soon see your garden flourish with beautiful swallowtail caterpillars feeding on fennel, hoverflies devouring aphids, bees pollinating squash and other crops in the garden.  Enjoy the new welcomed life in the garden!