Which Plants Make The Best Companions?

When we think about our own companions we think about our friends, people we rely on to help us when we need them, those we like spending time with and those people we have chosen to be close to.

When it comes to our plants, they can't choose their neighbours or which plants share their soil, so it's important that you make the right choices for them. When it comes to companion planting, this traditional, eco-friendly way of pairing plants is done to provide the following benefits:

Provide Natural Pest Control

Many plants are susceptible to pests, such as sap-sucking aphids, thrips, Japanese beetles and slugs. Companion plants are the organic way to help control pests–you can use their scent to deter pests from an area, or you can use them as 'safrificial' plants with their scent attracting pests to them so they feast there rather than on other plants in your garden.

Attract Beneficial Insects

With so many pests wanting to eat our plants, it’s great when you can find a natural way to control their numbers. Companion plants can be used to attract insects such as lacewings and ladybirds who will then happily munch their way through pests such as aphids, mites and mealybugs.

Improve Taste

Unlikely as it sounds, you can find some pairings of plants which will improve the taste of crops. This has been found with basil, which can be grown with tomatoes or potatoes to improve the flavour, or chives can be grown with carrots to improve their taste.

Aid Pollination

The colour and scent of some plants will attract pollinators, like bees, into your garden and for vegetable growers this can be invaluable as it helps to improve yields. This means that interplanting crops with annuals such as marigolds or sweet alyssum, or herbs like borage or lavender will pay dividends.

Enhance Appearance

When we think about enhancing the appearance of shrubs and perennials in our garden, ideally select ‘companions’ that will be a contrast in colour, form or texture. At the same time these companion plants also don’t want to detract or hide your plants and need to thrive in the same conditions as they do.

Some Of The Best Companion Plants

Here are some of our favourite companion plants - hopefully this will give you a start on finding the best ‘companions’ for your plants!

Nasturtiums

“Nasturtiums, who coloured you, you wonderful, glowing things? You must have been fashioned out of summer sunsets.”
Courtesy of L M Montgomery

As well as being cheery with their brilliantly coloured blooms, nasturtiums are well known as being excellent companion plants and are often used as sacrificial plants to attract pests which otherwise would damage your vegetables or flowers. 

With a large seed which is easy to plant directly into the ground after any chance of frost has passed, nasturtiums are extremely easy to grow and are hassle free - making them perfect little ‘soldiers’ in the fight against pests. 

Nasturtiums attract so many garden pests it’s always worthwhile having some planted in your garden or at your allotment, especially as they don’t need care and attention and will self-seed so save you the job the following year. Nasturtiums will appeal to the smallest pests such as black flies, aphids, flea beetles and caterpillars attracted to leafy greens, through to larger pests including slugs and snails. So they are the perfect flowers to plant in garden borders to protect roses or in your kitchen garden where they can protect aubergines, beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cucumbers, kale, tomatoes . . . it’s almost a question of what they won’t protect!

If you want to add these pest protectors to your garden why not try our Flower Starting Kit which includes nasturtium seeds as well as lavender and sunflower seeds that also make great companion plants. 

Lavender

We all know lavender as being an attractive, aromatic herb which is often used to add a beautiful scent to our homes and is used in many soaps and lotions so we can smell like lavender too! But for gardeners, lavender is another eco-friendly way to repel pests and protect other plants from damage. 

From small insects like aphids, moths and mosquitoes, through to larger pests such as mice and deer, the scent of lavender which soothes and calms us will keep these unwanted visitors away.  

To help prevent deer from devouring your plants and flowers ideally plant lavender either at the perimeter of your garden or intersperse lavender into your garden beds and borders. In a similar way you can deter mice or rats from your garden by creating a ‘barrier’ of lavender which they won’t want to pass. Equally, you could protect yourself from mosquitoes by having pots of lavender planted near your patio or by your garden seat. 

Lavender will also make the perfect addition to a kitchen garden or allotment plot as you can use it to repel pests from your crops, especially brassicas such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages. You just need to be careful not to plant lavender amongst your vegetables - in containers or adjacent beds is better simply because it thrives on less water and less nutrient rich soil compared to your vegetables. 

You could even protect your houseplants from spider mites and mealybugs if you have lavender in a pot positioned close to them. 

For the best results using lavender as a pest repellent make sure you use either English or French lavender. These types of lavender have higher levels of linalool and linalyl acetate which are responsible for the strength of their scent, whilst other types of lavender have lower levels. 

Marigolds 

Beautiful and extremely easy-to-grow, marigolds come in a range of bright shades of yellow, orange and red and add attractive splashes of colour to a flower or vegetable garden. Whilst their smell and colour attract us, they both attract good insects and repel bad insects. 

Keeping the bad guys away, such as nematodes, slugs, snails and whitefly, the fact these low-maintenance annuals will grow well in a range of conditions means they are perfect for planting in with a wide range of vegetables, including tomatoes in your greenhouse through to runner beans and leafy greens outdoors. 

Although they repel many pests, they also attract insects hungry to feed on pests such as ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies which all like to eat aphids, so planting in beds and borders helps you to keep infestations under control. 

Marigolds will also improve pollination by being bee magnets, making them great for planting amongst courgettes which are often overlooked by pollinators. Infact, according to the Save The Bee Organisation marigolds are one of their top five plants for attracting honey bees into your garden due to their bright yellow-orange hue which bees love. You can learn more about these beloved pollinators in our ‘Little Book Of Bees’. 

Basil

A popular herb due to its distinctive taste, basil is added to many of our favourite recipes, especially where it is combined with tomatoes. Whilst a true companion to tomatoes in the kitchen, it’s also the same when growing tomatoes, with basil providing lots of benefits to your tomato plants. 

Acting as a pest repellent, basil will help to keep aphids, spider mites, thrips and whiteflies away from your plants so it’s perfect for growing alongside your tomatoes, as well as other crops including lettuce, radish and carrots. 

In addition to repelling pests, basil also attracts natural pollinators, such as bees, which improve pollination and ultimately yields. 

The third reason for using basil as a companion plant is that it has been found to improve the taste of crops which it is grown beside, including tomatoes and lettuce. Grown in the same soil the plants get to share the same nutrients, with basil enhancing the taste of the other crops.  

If its attributes as a companion plant aren’t enough to make you want to grow it, you should also know that it’s easy to grow, even for beginners and needs very little maintenance to thrive.  If you’d like to try growing basil why not try our Herb Starter Kit which includes seeds, coir and pots to raise basil, rosemary and mint. Simply add water and you’re ready to get growing!
https://www.gardeninggifts.co.uk/products/herb-starter-kit

Thyme

“Thyme attracts affection, loyalty, and the goodwill of others…and can foster strength and courage when needed.”
Courtesy of Rajani LaRocca, Midsummer’s Mayhem 

A strongly scented herb, thyme like basil will deter pests, attract beneficial insects, improve the taste of some crops and has the added benefit of making a dense ground cover, retaining moisture and preventing soil erosion and suffocating weeds.

An ideal companion plant for some shrubs such as roses, thyme’s shallow roots don’t compete with the roses deep root system, leaving the nutrients and moisture in the soil for your roses to benefit from. In addition it’s scent deters some of the pests which love roses, including aphids, blackflies and Japanese beetles. 

Thyme can also be used to protect strawberry plants, with simple interplanting ensuring weeds are smothered and prevents the soil from drying out so plump strawberries will be formed. Its scent also repels some parasitic worms which could otherwise destroy your strawberry plants.  

When it blooms, thyme’s tiny flowers will attract many beneficial insects including honey bees for improved pollination, ladybirds and hoverflies to reduce aphid populations and predatory wasps to protect against potato beetles. 

Finally, thyme is also believed to improve the flavour of strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes and shallots when grown in the same soil.   

You can grow thyme as well as many other popular herbs with our Grow Your Own Kitchen Herbs Kit. 

Even more companion plants are available . . . 

Although we’ve listed only five of the best performing companion plants, there are even more you can use to attract beneficial insects and repel pests including alliums, borage, comfrey, cosmea, dill, fennel, garlic, mint, parsley, poached egg plants, sage, sunflowers, sweet alyssum, tansy, and wormwood. If you know of any others which you use in your garden we’d be happy to hear from you as we believe the best way to grow is by sharing each other’s expertise and know-how.

Please remember, this blog post has been created using personal knowledge, insights from conversations with other gardeners and manufacturers in the gardening industry, and by drawing on information from gardening magazines, books, and online resources. We aim to be as informative and accurate as possible—but if you spot a mistake, please remember we’re only human!