In a sea of green in your home garden, the marigold provides a burst of bright color, and a friendly companion to the rest of the garden’s vegetables. Consider the marigold as your garden’s first line of defense, as the flower acts as a natural deterrent to pests that plague vegetable gardens like nematodes, cabbageworms, and beetles. They also aid in pollination by attracting bees to your garden.

We love marigolds because they play nicely with just about everything! Feel free to plant marigolds in your garden no matter what else you’re growing in there!

Selecting a cultivar of marigold for your garden usually depends on which colors you’d like to add to the garden. Marigolds can be started from seed or seedling, both of which are readily available at nurseries and big-box stores. Whether you’re bordering your garden beds with marigolds for insect defense, or going for a more natural look by broadcasting seeds throughout your garden, the marigold is a very hand-off member of your garden once it takes root. They require no special care, and will thrive with the regular watering the rest of the garden receives.

While the major appeal to growing marigolds in your home garden is for their beneficial relationship with the other plants, there are certain types of marigold that have edible petals. To harvest the leaves, snip off the head of the marigold and set it out to dry. Remove and crumble the petals. The flavor is describes as similar to saffron.