Plants: A collection
We have five key plants in the garden that are used either to: entice parasitic wasps to deal with pests; bring nutrients and minerals up from deep in the soil; use as a in-place mulching method; attract pollinators. (Click on any of the below to get more information and ideas for control):
This is a mixture of comfrey, clover, and perennial herbs on the edge of the garden.
Yarrow
I love this plant. It showed up in the garden by itself, a sign that the soil has good drainage. This plant is not only medicinal and edible--according to Temperate Climate Permaculture, Yarrow is a:
- General insect (especially bees) nectar plant
- Shelter plant for beneficial insects (bettles, lacewings, parasitic wasps, spiders)
- Aromatic Pest Confuser
- Pioneer Species
- Drought Tolerant Species
- Groundcover (space plants 6-18 inches apart), quite tolerant of foot traffic
- Dynamic Accumulator (Potassium, Phosphorus, Copper)
- Liquid Plant Feed - soak leaves in water for a few weeks, dilute with water, apply to plants
CAUTION: this plant spreads by roots and can take over an area if you let it. Cut it back each year--they can tolerate a mass removal of plants. Perhaps transplant to the borders of the garden in May/June.
Comfrey
Clover
Clover is another wonder plant. The lawn surrounding the garden is full of little white clovers that are great forage for bees and other pollinators. (We requested that the mowers only mow every two weeks to allow the flowers to bloom). In the garden, red clover, also a great pollinator, is growing fairly aggressively (it was sown from the seeded hay we put down in 2013).
Clover is a "green manure," meaning a great mulch plant. It can be cut with a machete or other similar tool and dropped below plants. As a legume, it fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere. It is another dynamic accumulator, specifically depositing phosphorus. Both of these attributes lessen the need for industrial fertilizer.
It is also a "shelter plant" for lacewings and parasitic wasps who harbor in the flowers and lay eggs there.
Marigold
Milkweed
Milkweed is an incredibly important plant. Beside being a dominant pollinator plant for native and honey bees and the required host plant for Monarch butterflies (whose numbers are rapidly decreasing), this plant attracts predators and parasites of pests. "Many wasps, beetles, and flies, have relatively short tongues and preferentially forage on flowers such as milkweeds that have easily accessible nectar" (Xerces).
In our garden, the plant is found in the center of the plot to the left. Below is a photo of a monarch caterpillar found in the garden this year. (click on the photo to expand)
Yarrow
Comfrey
Comfrey is a highly regarded Permaculture plant. It is a dynamic accumulator, meaning its deep, drilling roots dig through compacted layers of soil to grab nutrients and minerals from below and pull them up to the leaves of this plant. When the leaves die, they leave a rich layer of mulch.
Because of comfrey's thick knotted root system, we planted it along the edges of the garden (an incomplete task) to keep the lawn from creeping in and to "chop-and-drop" (meaning cut to mulch on the soil).
And, of course, this plant is an excellent bee forage plant.
To propagate this plant, take a two-inch piece of root from an established plant and place it horizontally in a hole an inch deep, cover and pat down. Easy. CAUTION: every root cutting will establish a new plant, so be careful when digging near the plants that you don't create a new plant. It will spread quickly if you let it!
Clover
Marigold
Marigolds grow really well (and often as volunteers!) in this garden. We leave the plants standing in the winter so that they may self-sow and to provide habitat for harboring insects. They kill nematodes, repel whiteflies and beetles (including the Mexican Bean Beetle), and can be used as a trap plant for snails. French marigolds (the kind we have) produce a pesticide in their roots that lasts for years in the soil.
Marigolds are excellent pollinator plants for native bees and the like. Also, the flowers are edible and fun to add on salads for the kids!