This is a great thread with a lot of information. I want one of each.

It was supposed to help me narrow my choices. It didn't. Paired with the other thread where Dawn talks about heat and drought resistance, I started adding to my list, LOL.

Amy (or any herb grower), do you buy your herb seeds from a particular supplier? I have only grown the average kitchen garden herbs, but I'd like to try a few others this year that would be useful as companion plants. Is there a place that seems to be best?

It depends on what you are looking for. I start by checking Sample Seed Shop, Pine Tree and Fedco. Strictly Medicinal has many of the more unusual herbs. So does Richters, but I've not ordered from them. I got some things from Wildseed Farms this year. Swallowtail Garden Seeds,Prairie Moon, Everwilde Farms. Duck Creek is a vendor at Cherry Street Farmers Market in Tulsa. I have bought a lot of herb plants from him and had good luck with his plants. There are several events that feature herbs in the spring as well.

I was looking all over the herb and flower sites for Golden Marguerite and found it at Pine Tree, which I think of for veggies, so I don't have just one vendor.

It is a nice list, but I have companion planted forever and want to stress that it is far from a proven science. In fact, in multiple university studies, the companion planting claims do not hold up in controlled studies done to study their efficacy. I am at the point that I ignore all those comments about "improves growth or flavor" and I ignore 98% of the comments about any type of plant repelling specific pests. Very few of those supposed benefits have been observed in my garden, and I've been companion planting in this location ever since we moved here in 1999. The reason to companion plant is to attract beneficial insects, and that's why I do it.

Here's one example from what I've learned over the years: I can surround my cabbage beds, for example, with a solid border of all the companion plants said to repel cabbage worms, and my cabbage plants (and all other brassicas susceptible to the same pests) will be totally devoured by cabbage worms anyway. Often, those cabbage worms are sitting so close to the plants that supposedly repel them that they can use the companion plants to travel from one cabbage plant to another. So, take those sorts of recommendations with a grain of salt and just save yourself the hassle by growing your brassicas underneath row covers or insect netting placed over low tunnel hoops. It is the single most effective thing I've done in my garden in terms of deterring all types of brassica type caterpillar pests from devouring brassica plants. It is a gazillion times easier and more efficient/productive that devoting garden space to companion plants that don't repel the pests anyway, and it is preferable to using Bt 'kurstaki' in the garden, since the Bt can harm desirable butterflies. In the back garden I felt like I had some success with common wormwood repelling some but not all caterpillars from brassicas, but common wormwood is a garden thug that gets huge and reseeds readily. Fortunately for me, I believe the flooding of 2015 killed all my wormwood. I don't intend to replant it, and live in fear of it spontaneously making a comeback from self-sown seed and taking over the whole back garden again.

There are some things that do seem to work. For example, growing horseradish (preferably in pots since it is invasive) does seem to help (though not 100%) keep Colorado Potato Bugs off your potato plants. But, guess what? If the CPBs show up and are repelled from the potato plants by nearby horseradish, guess where the CPBS will go? Straight to the tomato plants. So, remember you also can see some unintended consequences. I find hand-picking and drowning the CPBs as soon as they show up to be the best way to manage them. It is important to find them the first day they show up, before they can breed and lay eggs.

Growing basil with tomatoes seems to help repel hornworms, but you'll see an occasional hornworm on a plant anyway. I feel like four o'clocks planted as a heavy border along two sides of the garden also repel hornworms. Otherwise, there's no real explanation for how I can grow hundreds of tomato plants each year and almost never see more than 1 to 6 hornworms the entire growing season.

The area where companion plants shine is in the way they attract beneficial insects, which serve multiple purposes in your garden. This is how I use companion plants nowadays, after determining that their other reported benefits are hard to see, hard to prove and harder and harder to believe. For attracting beneficials, you need a wide range of companion plants, and the most important is to have something that is green and, hopefully, in bloom virtually year-round. Diversity is important so instead of growing tons and tons of each companion plant, I grow a few of many, many different plants.

The most useful plants for attracting a wide range of beneficials are those that have small flowers or large flowerheads composed of many small flowers (like yarrow, tansy, sweet alyssum, etc.) and daisy type flowers. I feel like the flowers/herbs that attract the most beneficial insects to our garden are these: sweet alyssum, dill, fennel, yarrow, statice, purple poppy mallow, petunias (especially Laura Bush petunias with their heat tolrance), feverfew, nicotiana, small flowered marigolds like lemon gem, tangerine gem, and red gem, cilantro/coriander (you have to leave it and let it bloom in order to attract the beneficials so you don't harvest this cilantro as cilantro but you can harvest the seeds for coriander), parsley, tansy, silver tansy, comfrey, zinnias, cosmos, buckwheat, spike speedwell, nasturtiums, and moss rose. Many other herbs will attract beneficial insects once they flower, and this includes catnip, catmint, lemon balm, sage, basil, mints (in pots only as they are incredibly invasive), borage, and wormwood.

The beneficial insects that I most want to attract to my garden, in addition to bees of all kinds, are green lacewings, brown lacewings, hover flies, lady bugs, minute pirate bugs, big-eyed bugs, and all the little parasitic wasps like brachonid wasps, ichneumoid waspas, and trichogrammas wasps. The plants I listed above do attract them and I think the beneficial wasps, in specific, are why I don't have a lot of caterpillars anyway, notwithstanding the annual onslaught of cabbage worms. I believe the beneficial wasps eventually, in due time, would control the cabbage worms, but before that could happen, you'd have holey plants, so I just exclude them from the plants in the first place.

You don't have to run out and buy tons of packets of flower and herb seeds. Many seed companies sell pollinator blends and good bug blends that attract bees and other pollinators as well as the beneficial insects I listed above. You can buy as little as one seed packet of pollinator or good bug attracting plants, or you can buy the mixes by the quarter pound or pound. I have used seed mixes like these from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, Wildseed Farms and Botanical Interests, among others.

Because many of the plants that attract pollinators are large, getting quite tall and spreading out wide, the easiest way to grow them is as border plants along the edges of your garden. You can choose smaller, more compact companion plants to grow in the same beds as your garden plants, but understand that even these can take up a lot of space if you aren't careful. It is hard enough to squeeze them into a large garden, and considerably harder to find space for them in small gardens. A lot of the herbs and flowers I grow to attract beneficials are grown as shorter border plants along the edges of raised beds or, if they are too tall to be true edging plants, I grow them at the ends of each raised bed, but not in the middles of the bed where the actual crop plants are growing. If you've ever seen a borage plant growing and spreading massively to try to outgrow the tomato plants beside it, you'll understand where I'm coming from.

Of course, almost all my companion plants reseed readily, popping up anywhere and everywhere. I try to let them stay where they sprouted when I can, but if they start to outgrow the vegetable plants they're sitting next to, I either prune them back really hard or yank them out. I also grow tons of wildflowers outside the garden fence on all sides of the garden because they also attract beneficials.

The area where most people fall short when planting to attract beneficials is that they fail to plan for the cool season. I have lady bugs, bees and other beneficial insects out even in January, frantically searching for food, so I do the best I can to provide for them. I always leave henbit wherever it pops up and let it bloom because so many beneficials depend on it in the cool-season. I have sweet alyssum and chamomile in bloom by February of most years and they attract many beneficials. I often have dianthus and violas blooming in February or early March. For early beneficials, you need extra-early plants to attract them and also to feed them. I never, ever, ever under any condition would consider ground ivy/Creeping Charlie to be a companion plant. It is a rampant, highly-invasive thug and I don't tolerate it anywhere. If you let it take hold and get established, you'll have it forever and it will be on a constant mission to take over every square inch of planting space, and it isn't just happy to occupy the garden. It will fight to stay in the lawn and in flower beds. Right now, if you walk out into my frozen garden, you'll still find green catnip plants (regrown since we dropped down to 4 degrees a few weeks ago), tansy and dianthus. You'll also find beneficial insects on them on all but the coldest days. You may not see the beneficial insects early in the morning on cold days, but you'll see them out by mid-day.

When planting both cosmos and zinnias to attract beneficial insects, search out old-fashioned varieties that haven't had their nectar/pollen tampered with by modern plant breeders. Also, plant the shorter varieties that stay more compact and are easier to manage or you'll end up with huge cosmos and zinnia plants (easily attaining 4-5' in height) shading out surrounding plants. Same thing with nasturtiums. Grow only the short, busy ones, not the vining ones. While some of the more modern zinnias have tolerance of/resistance to powdery mildew bred into them and they look nice, they don't attract and keep beneficials like the old OP varieties do.

I love companion planting and mixing in herbs and flowers with fruits and veggies all over the garden, but you have to manage the way you use companion plants or you'll find too much of your resources (soil, water, even light) going to them and not enough going to the edible plants you're growing.

There are a few plants that make great trap plants, attracting pests to them. The way to use them is to grow them outside the garden itself in order to lure those pests away from the garden. Sunflowers are my favorite for this purpose. If you plant sunflowers outside the garden, maybe 10' from the garden, they'll attract stink bugs to them. Then, you can use the method of your choice to kill the stink bugs. Anything I can do to attract stinkbugs away from the garden in summer is worth doing. They are a horrible pest that feed on the fruits of most summer crops. The grain type amaranths are useful in this way to as they can lure some pests away from your garden.

Thank you, Amy and Dawn. Luckily, I have some of the flower seeds you listed. I was reading some things earlier about how to attract more bees and beneficials, and that's actually what I am after. I think I'll try to use up the flower seeds that I have, since I have quite a few that you listed. Some of the seed is 3 years old, some was purchased last year. I'll just see what comes up, but I have things like nasturtium, cosmos, bachelor buttons, forget-me-nots, baby's breath, four o-clocks, sweet peas, moon-flower and morning glory (for the fence?) black-eyed susan (fence also?) french marigold, calendula, and I have tons and tons of basil, dill, thyme, and cilantro. I'd like to find some vinca seeds locally, if I can (just because I like them) and some nicotiana seeds. At some point, Stillwater Milling should be putting out their large packages of seeds, including some flower seeds. Because of the way my rows get rearranged each year in my small garden, I don't really have a way to save things from year to year, but if it pops up despite the dirt turning, then more power to it. I really don't have a good place for sunflowers, but I keep scouting. I'm not the best at visualizing the possibilities. 'Course I have the blackberries, and they attract bees and such. I am going to cut them way back this year, though. I have a hummingbird feeder somewhere that I can dig out, too! I forgot about that. I buy things on clearance, put them up, and then forget that I have them.

I agree, Dawn, I don't think there are many plants that actually repel insects. I like growing herbs for the sake of the herbs (its like I collect them like baseball cards) and I'm trying to develope some flower beds with beneficials in mind. I have grown every supposed companion plant for squash and nothing kept the dreaded squash bugs and SVBs away. I take all that with a grain of salt.

It's funny, I've been looking for things that bloom in late summer. That was what was lacking in my garden last year. I have a lot of white Dutch clover, hen bit and dead nettle in my yard, which bloom in spring.

I have wondered about violas and pansies, if they provided enough nector. I usually let catnip grow where it comes up, but most everything took a hit in our last cold spell. I think DH pulled it up when cleaning up. BTW, a volunteer Tulsi (holy basil) had hundreds of the little wasps and flies on it last year. It smells nice, too.

I have just been reading about the allelopathy of sunflowers. I grew sunflowers in my first garden, and planted pole beans around them. Later I read that pole beans are very sensitive to the allelopathic chemicals(?) of sunflowers which explained why my beans didn't do anything. There is a meme on FB today saying to grow your cucumbers with sunflowers. Cukes aren't on the list of things sensitive to sunflowers, but once burned, twice shy! If they attract stink bugs they don't need to be in the actual garden beds. Something said they get aphids, too. I have some seeds, but haven't grown them because of space issues. They will have to be somewhat isolated now.

I remember I planted "petite mix" marigolds, which were anything but petite. The zinnias I grew were huge. Many of the flowers I bought this year are on the tall side. So many decisions. Thanks for the heads up on gound ivy, I didn't know what it was. I have 2 wormwood plants in pots I've been trying to decide what to do with. I have read they exude the absynthe chemical into the soil which can contaminate other plants. Don't know if that is true, but for now they stay in pots. Pots aren't a guarantee they won't drop seeds. what about Sourhernwood, is it as invasive?

I forgot, we were in Southern Agriculture earlier and they had a Bontanical interests seed rack. I glanced at it and walked away...came back later, but DH had already checked out. I could have bought several flowers....

Mary, By black-eyed susan (for the fence) do you mean black-eyed susan vine? They grow fine on the fence, and if you mean regular black-eyed susans, you can plant them near the fence to keep from hogging precious growing space..

Amy, Your mention of collecting herbs like baseball cards made me laugh. I do the exact same thing with the kinds of herbs that I do not grow from seed myself---I just choose one of each.

In late summer, I still have most of the same things that were blooming in early summer. To remember them all, I had to sit here and picture walking through my garden gate in late July or early August. When I did that, it was easy to compile this list:

Coral Honeysuckle "Pink Lemonade"

Autumn Sage

Pineapple Sage

Catnip

Crinum lilies

Daylilies

Moss Rose

Dianthus (It goes in and out of bloom the whole growing season as long as I keep it deadheaded)

Zinnias of all kinds

Borage

Hardy Hibiscus

Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' and 'Mystic Merlin'

Purple Coneflower

Bat-faced Cuphea

"Laura Bush" Petunias

Marigolds 'Lemon Gem', 'Tangerine Gem' and 'Red Gem'

Scarlet Sage

Cleoma

Datura

Comfrey

Nicotiana

Balsam (as long as I remember to deadhead earlier in summer, otherwise it will go to seed)

Basil, Catnip and Catmint, also as long as I deadhead regularly

Lemon Balm

Tansy and Silver Tansy

Comfrey

Celosia and cockscombs of various varieties

Fennel (more heat-tolerant than Dill)

Western Ironweed

Purple Coneflowers

Vinca (periwinkle)

Cannas

Four O'Clocks

And, on the fence:

Morning Glories,

Moonflower Vines

Black-eye Susan Vine

Purple Hyacinth Bean Vine

Cypress VIne

Cardinal Climber VIne

Outside the garden, much depends on how much rain we are having and how hot it either is or isn't. This is a list of what wildflowers are blooming near the garden but outside of it in summer:

Black-eyed Susans

Clasping Coneflowers

Snow-on-the-Prairie

LIatris (Blazing Star and Gayfeather)

Dwarf Red Coreopsis

Several native asters

Mexican Hat

Plains Coreopsis

Tickseed

Helenium

Gomphrena (naturalized down by the mailbox)

Eventually, and the timing can be as late as September, we'll have blooms in the fields also from goldenrod, crownbeard daisies, various native asters and giant blue sage.

In general, in order to have blooms in the late summer and autumn in the garden, I must deadhead regularly throughout the growing season. If I fall behind on deadheading and the weather turns hot, a lot of plants give up and just go to seed.

Finally, the trumpet creeper vines and crape myrtles always are blooming in late summer, and so are tons of veggies. Probably nothing attracts pollinators to the late summer garden better than southern peas. There's also tons of veggies blooming in late summer.

Verbena bonariensis, verbena bonariensis, verbena bonariensis.

I keep forgetting to mention it.

It is also called verbena on a stick, because it is a tall, aiyr plant completely different in growth habit from regular verbena.

It blooms from spring through fall and sometimes half the winter, as long as you occasionally deadhead it. Mine was still blooming in early December, but eventually froze on the night we dropped down to 4 degrees. It is perennial and I'm sure the cold only froze it back to the ground but did not kill it, as it has survived temperatures her down to 1 degree.

Butterflies and tiny pollinators love it.

It looks like this:

Verbena Bonariensis, aka Tall Verbena, aka Verbena on a Stick

It likes moist soil, but survives in dry soil without irrigation or rainfall for many weeks.

It reseeds readily, especially if you fail to deadhead it, but then so do many of the flowers in my garden.