Blossom buddies: Companion planting lets your vegetables and flowers be friends

If you're thinking about growing your own produce this year, consider an organic growing technique called companion planting.

Companion planting uses flowers and veggies working together as the kind of close friends that can actually help each other grow by providing nutrients and pest control for each other. This allows both to flourish, creating a beautiful garden setting.

Companion planting was first used by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas by using the “three sisters” planting method. By planting the three sisters of corn, beans and squash together, the plants benefited each other in various ways, as sisters should. The corn grew and provided a tall stalk for the beans to climb. The beans pulled nitrogen from the air and acted as a carrier to bring it to the soil to help nourish the corn and squash. The squash, with their prickly, wide leaves, not only protected the soil and reduced weeds, but helped protect the other two vegetables from pests and animals by providing a cover.

Most people are aware basil and tomatoes taste good together, but planting them near each other also makes them grow better, too. (And just like companions, there are also some plant frenemies that don't do so well together — and shouldn't be planted near each other, either.)

Some natural companions are tomatoes and basil; beets and beans; carrots with onions, radish and peas; and cucumbers and radish.

Not only do different veggies act as good friends together but so do certain flowers. With flowers, there is the benefit of potentially having a better crop by attracting more pollinators, allowing you to cut beautiful flowers all summer long.

A few flowers to grow along side or near the veggies in your garden are:

• Marigolds: Not only are they easy to grow, but by bordering your garden bed with marigolds, they produce chemicals called nematicides in their roots that help fight against nematodes. They also attract beneficial pollinators and insects. Plus, the strong smell is reported to keep some plant-eating pests away, too.

• Cosmos: Sprinkle those seed early in the spring and they will reward you all season long with whimsical, flowy blooms that are beautiful in your yard and in a vase. The more you cut, the more they flower, and beneficial insects love them, increasing vegetable pollination rates.

• Zinnia: Zinnias are easy to start from seed, and can be used as a cut flower over and over again, bringing the good pollinators in. This is another one to seed directly in the soil in early spring.

If you don't have an area for gardening, there are many veggies and companions that can be grown in containers on balconies or on patios (if allowed) for a smaller-scale operation.

Tomatoes, bush cucumbers and bush beans are just a few that can all be grown in containers and do quite well. Place smaller pots of marigolds, basil and zinnias around them to still get some of the companion planting benefits.

No matter what or how you grow your veggies, enjoy the process! There's just something about a homegrown tomato off the vine that comes with the enjoyment of picking it yourself. And gardening is always better with good friends.

For more information on companion planting, check out these books:

• “Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secret of Companions Planting for Successful Gardening” by Louise Riotte.

• “The Beginner's Guide to Companion Planting” by Peter Shepperd.

• “Soil Mates: Companion Planting for your Vegetable Garden” by Sara Alway.

• Jennifer Rizzo is an artist, designer, content creator, author, product designer and brand trend forecaster living in the West suburbs. You can find her at jenniferrizzo.com or at Jenniferrizzodesigncompany on Facebook and Instagram.