Flowers That Attract Beneficial Insects

Created on 3/22/2009

One of my favorite grand French kitchen gardens is Saint-Jean de Beauregard near Paris. It is a 17th century chateau garden laid out in the traditional quadripartite manner… two crossing paths with a central water feature, surrounded by a large stone wall. What makes this five acre potager so memorable are the abundant flowers planted among the fruits and vegetables. But the owner hasn’t just planted these annual flowers because the colorful blossoms look stunning. It’s really part of a brilliant master plan: to use biological controls instead of pesticides to reduce damage from insects. Planting flowers in your kitchen garden will help you battle insects naturally, without the use of chemicals.

Flowers provide nectar and pollen to nourish the predatory insects that are eating the bad bugs that are munching holes in your beans, eggplant and kale. Plant a wide variety of flowers so that something is always blooming throughout the growing season to attract beneficials. A wide variety of insects in the garden is a good thing. Here are a couple of my favorite annual flowers and the good bugs they attract.

Alyssum is a fragrant annual that grows about eight inches high. It’s a great flower to use to border your kitchen garden. It’s easy to grow from seed. The tiny blossoms attract hover flies. The larvae of hover flies are voracious eaters- and one of their favorite snacks is aphids. Try alyssum around your beans to cut down on the sticky aphid damage on the bean leaves.

Zinnias attract butterflies and they also attract parasitic wasps and hover flies. My favorites are anything from the AAS Gold Medal winner Profusion series- orange, white or cherry. There are many zinnias; just choose a favorite color and plant among the vegetables.

Cosmos flowers attract parasitic wasps and hover flies. Cosmos Cosmic Orange is an All-America winner and makes a perfect bright edger. It’s easy to grow outdoors from seed.

Lemon Gem marigold and Tangerine Gem marigolds are very fragrant, like lemons and oranges. This is the edible variety of marigold. (Tagetes tenufolia) Tasty for salads and attractive to ladybugs.

Dill, parsley, coriander, and fennel flowers attract a variety of beneficial insects: tachnid flies, assassin bugs, lacewings and parasitic wasps. The flowers of these plants from the parsley family are not vibrant, but the lacy leaves are fragrant and useful for cooking. Yellow dill flowers are great for dill pickles or can embellish salads.

When you plan your kitchen garden this year, order some annual flower seeds as well. The blooms will do the work while you enjoy their beauty.