How to Do Companion Planting: Friends or Foes?

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Discover the secrets of companion planting! Learn which plants grow as friends, which clash as foes, and how to design a thriving garden naturally.

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When it comes to gardening, not all plants get along. Some thrive when planted side by side, helping each other grow stronger and healthier, while others compete for resources and attract unwanted pests. This is the essence of companion planting—a method that gardeners have used for centuries to boost yields, improve soil health, and keep gardens in balance. In this guide, I’ll explore which plants are true “friends,” which act as “foes,” and how you can use these natural partnerships to create a more productive and harmonious garden.

The most successful way of growing a thriving garden is by companion planting. Like us, plants have friends and foes. We like to sit by other people more than others at school or workplaces just as plants like to be planted next to their friends too. After all, they will be sitting next to each other all season long!!

Remember in school how fun it was to have your desk assigned next to all your friends for the whole year? It is basically the same concept. So gather your plant’s friend list and assign them to grow alongside each other all season long and watch how your garden happily thrives.

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Image illustrates a Pinterest pin of companion planting.

Plants that like each other, attract beneficial insects and pollinators to each other as well as repel pesky enemies to keep each other safe, happy, and healthy. Remember your tight-knit friend group in school when you all looked out for each other? Keeping your enemies out and your friends in is exactly the same thing that plants like to do too.

When you keep their foes away from them, you will be preventing your garden from acquiring diseases and pests and find that you do not need extra help with chemicals just to be successful. If you skip companion planting in your garden, you are more likely to resort to using chemicals on your plants.

However, you can avoid the use of chemicals if you learn companion planting and plant your plants on the grounds of friends they love. Your garden will naturally thrive and you will have less work on your end to keep them healthy and you will be a successful gardener with a happy successful garden.

Companion Planting with the Foodscape Garden Method

Image illustrates a foodscape garden for companion planting.

When you are using the companion planting method in your garden, you are basically creating a foodscape garden. Plants that grow together for the benefit of one another look amazing together and offer a full harvest of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

Planting a foodscape garden by bringing beneficial plants together helps improve their ecosystem. Root vegetables planted around the beds of their companion plants can help improve the soil by achieving aeration and help break up soil compaction with their deep root systems and tubers while flowers help bring pollinators to the vegetables and fruit above ground.

You can find more information about how to grow a foodscape garden in my other post.

How To Grow a Foodscape Garden From Scratch

Attract Pollinators with Companion Planting Flowers

Companion planting with flowers and vegetables mixed together attracts pollinators to help your garden thrive and produce an abundant harvest for you.

Companion flowers not only add beauty to your vegetable garden, but beneficial flowers help combat insects in the garden to protect your plants.

Best Companion Planting Flowers for Vegetables

Flowers are amazingly beautiful and act as natural pest control in your garden to help you grow organically. There is nothing better than adding beauty to your garden with blooming beneficial flowers to bring health and abundance to your vegetable and fruit garden.

Here is a list of companion planting flowers to add to your garden to help it thrive by attracting helpful pollinators and beneficial insects that eat and deter the pesky insects away from your garden.

Companion Planting Friends & Their Benefits

1. Basil and Tomatoes
Basil repels tomato hornworms and aphids while attracting bees and pollinators with its fragrant flowers. This not only boosts tomato flavor but also increases fruit set through better pollination.

2. Marigolds and Vegetables
Marigolds release a natural chemical that deters nematodes and many garden pests. Their bright, showy blooms draw in bees, butterflies, and hoverflies, helping pollinate nearby veggies like squash and beans.

3. Carrots and Onions
Onions ward off carrot flies, while carrot flowers (if allowed to bolt) attract pollinators and beneficial insects like parasitic wasps that also help control pests. Together, they balance pest control and pollination.

4. Cucumbers and Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums act as a trap crop, pulling aphids and cucumber beetles away from cucumbers. Their vibrant blooms lure bees, ensuring more cucumber flowers get pollinated for a heavier harvest.

5. Sunflowers and Cucumbers/Beans
Tall sunflowers provide natural support for climbing cucumbers or beans, creating a mini ecosystem. Their large, pollen-rich blooms attract bees in abundance, improving pollination for nearby crops.

6. Lavender and Fruit Trees
Lavender repels moths and fleas while attracting swarms of pollinators like bees and butterflies. Planted under fruit trees, it ensures blossoms are visited more often, leading to better fruit production.

7. Squash and Borage
Borage repels hornworms and beetles while its star-shaped blue flowers are a favorite of bees. Interplanting it with squash boosts pollination, which is crucial for good fruit development.

8. Dill and Cabbage
Dill repels cabbage loopers and attracts beneficial insects like hoverflies and lacewings. When it flowers, dill also draws in pollinators that help nearby vegetables and herbs set seed.

Benefits of Companion Planting

There are several benefits of companion planting in the garden. With this comprehensive list of companion plants, you can begin to plant beneficial plants together and be off to a great start on a successful gardening season.

Improve the garden ecosystems.
Attract pollinators to the garden and improve the abundance of harvest.
Prevent pests and diseases in the garden.
Help plants thrive.
Improve soil compaction and health and weed control.

The next few pages reveal a helpful chart to show you who’s friends with whom and who hates whom.

Plants are actually pretty friendly and you will notice that their friend list is actually longer than their foe’s list. You will learn that garlic is friends with everybody and hates nobody!!

Companion Planting Charts

CROP	FRIEND	FOE
Beans	Carrots, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumber, Marigolds, Corn	Chives, Leeks Garlic
Beets	Bush Beans, Broccoli, Corn, Garlic, Onion, Leeks, Lettuce, Cauliflower	Pole Beans
Broccoli	Celery, Dill, Rosemary	Oregano, Strawberries, Tomatoes
Cabbage	Beets, Potatoes, Onion, Celery	Strawberries, Tomatoes, Eggplant
Carrot	Beans, Lettuce, Peas, Tomatoes, Onion, Chives	Dill, Parsnips
Cauliflower	Beans, Celery, Oregano	Peas, Tomatoes, Potatoes
Celery	Cabbage, Spinach, Tomatoes, Onion	Parsnips, Potatoes
Corn	Beans, Cucumbers, Peas, Pumpkin, Squash, Potatoes, Sunflowers	Tomatoes
Cucumber	Peas, Lettuce, Celery	Cauliflower, Potatoes, Basil
Eggplant	Spinach, Peppers, Potatoes, Beans	Fennel
Garlic	Cucumber, Lettuce	Nobody!!
Leek	Carrot, Celery	Legumes
Lettuce	Carrots, Radishes, Strawberries, Beets	Beans, Parsley
Onion	Broccoli, Cabbage, Lettuce, Tomatoes	Beans, Peas
Peas	Beans, Carrots, Corn, Cucumber	Onion, Garlic
Pepper	Tomatoes, Parsely, Basil, Carrots	Tomatoes, Parsley, Basil, Carrots
Potato	Corn, Cabbage, Peas, Eggplant	Pumpkin, Sunflowers, Cucumber
Pumpkin	Corn, Squash	Potatoes
Radish	Carrots, Peas, Spinach, Beans, Beets	Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts
Spinach	Eggplant, Leeks, Lettuce, Peas, Radish, Strawberries	Parsnips, Potatoes
Swiss Chard	Beans, Celery, Cauliflower	Parsnips
Strawberry	Beans, Garlic, Lettuce, Peas, Spinach, Thyme	Fennel
Tomato	Basil, Carrot, Celery, Chives, Lettuce, Marigolds, Onion, Peppers, Parsley	Corn, Dill, Fennel, Potatoes

Conclusion

Companion planting is more than just placing plants side by side—it’s about creating a thriving ecosystem in your garden where every plant has a purpose. By pairing friends that support one another through pest control, soil enrichment, and pollinator attraction, you encourage healthier crops and more abundant harvests. At the same time, knowing which plants clash helps you avoid unnecessary competition and frustration. With a little planning, companion planting can transform your garden into a balanced, self-sustaining space where pollinators flourish and your plants reward you season after season.

Resources: Here are some helpful resources for further information.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is companion planting?

Companion planting is the practice of growing certain plants together to benefit each other through pest control, improved pollination, stronger growth, and better yields.

2. How does companion planting help with pollination?

Plants with vibrant or fragrant blooms, like marigolds, nasturtiums, and borage, attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. These pollinators also visit nearby vegetables and fruits, leading to higher pollination rates and more produce.

3. Which companion plants attract the most pollinators?

Flowers like sunflowers, lavender, borage, and nasturtiums are excellent at drawing bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects into your garden.

4. Are there plants I should never plant together?

Yes. Some plants compete for nutrients or stunt each other’s growth. For example, onions and beans don’t grow well together, and potatoes and tomatoes often attract the same pests, making them poor companions.

5. Do I need flowers in my vegetable garden for pollination?

Absolutely! Adding flowers like marigolds, calendula, or sunflowers helps attract pollinators and beneficial insects, which improves pollination for vegetables and fruiting plants.