I'm mainly thinking of herbs such as lemon and bee balm to attract bees and enhance flavor... Ok, attracting pollinators is always a good thing! Even tho most veggies are self pollinating it is always handy to have them for the squash and such. All around the edges of the garden works well for that purpose. And they aren't picky either - most any flowering plants will get their attention. Improving taste is another matter since it simply can't be proven/documented in any way and some problems can result depending on how planted - shading from the bigger plants, needing very different nutrient and water needs, competing for nutrients and water, attracting pests that can harm the primary crop (as marigolds do with aphids), etc. Again borders work ok, mixed in with the vegetables needs to be done with care. A herb garden or patch or even in a separate row that is just herbs is a great thing to have and since herbs prefer much lower nutrient needs than vegetables they thrive best when away from all the heavy fertilizing is. Mixed in with the tomato plants and such - not so much. Experiment with some placements and see what works for you best. I posted this question in the companion planting...and got no replies Yeah that's a problem and a clue as to the fading popularity of it. There is still alot of information to read there but it isn't active. When the fad was hot and heavy years ago it was pretty aggressive in this forum with all its claims and things got pretty heated so was given its own forum. Over time and with experience and questionable results the fad and the forum has pretty much faded. It just never developed into all it was initially cracked up to be. Dave

I've been growing radishes pretty much everywhere. Generally they seem to be ready for harvest before the main plants are big enough for their to be any competition.

I grow marigolds on the edges of my lasagna beds, but it's more of a pretty factor than a companion factor. And with this years bed rotation, the marigolds are on the edges of pepper, squash, and bean beds, and not along the tomato beds at all, lol. And I thickly direct sow marigold seed too- that way it's a nice bushy border and if/when they get bug-tacular I can just pull those plants if needed. This year it's carrots and leafy greens edging the tomato beds- but that's more of a got that little space left over I can cram them into rather than companionship. But hey, if it helps, why not? I've never been sure how basil is supposed to improve tomatoes either- I always figured it was kind of an old wives tale because tomatoes and basil are so often companioned in cooking rather than the growing aspect of it. I would never grow garlic in my tomato bed- my garlic gets it's own beds, and honestly is one of the only beds that is perfectly picked clean of anything that could compete with the garlic. Garlic might be good for tomatoes, but I wouldn't want to chance tomatoes out competing my garlic. Borage gets it's own growing space too, because it has it's own application, and I don't want it competed with. I grow calendula aside too for the same reason. My sage is in the herb garden, and I don't grow chives because I have large swaths of my lawn that are thick with wild chives so I don't need to grow any. Nasturtiums can be a great companion plant as far as I'm concerned- but as a companion plant only as a trap plant that I'm willing to sacrifice. I had a nasty aphid infestation last year, and the nasts trapped almost all of them- and when a bit of the plant got infested, I promptly cut it off and drowned it. I grew them next to peppers and squash last year, and they didn't get a single aphid. I wouldn't rely on nasts as a companion to just let sit and do whatever. But then I have the tendency to grow hedgerows of nasts because I use them a lot for various eating too, so I can use them as sacrificial companions and eating plants.

There are heathers with gray-silver foliage with white or pink flowers, and also ones with gold to red foliage, particularly during winter, though I no longer remember variety names. A combination of the two looks nice. Erica (heaths) will provide an alternative foliage texture, almost looking like tiny pine branches, but with late winter blooms. I've also planted other ground cover/rock garden plants around the edges of heather beds, including dianthus/pinks, Iberis/perennial candytuft, and some of the low-growing Campanulas.