Today the 7th Annual Authors in Bloom Blog Hop begins! Oh, how I LOVE spring. Not only do April showers bring out the best in my flowers, my vegetable garden is brimming with beautiful bounty!! Woohoo!
These gorgeous wildflowers are right behind my garden. Actually, they’re beginning to move INTO my garden. Not a bad thing, until the blueberry plants start to complain. But that’s a different story. Today is where I share one of my gardening tips.
And speaking of blueberries, mine haven’t been doing so well lately. I water them, feed them, yet still, they seem sick. I decided the problem must be something that I CAN’T see, like bugs underground eating my roots. My solutions?
Marigold. These are lovely yellow and gold flowers that are easy to grow and lovely to look at–except the bugs hate them. Similar to garlic, the aroma of the marigold is NOT a favorite for bugs, or those invisible nematodes that lurk in my soil. Planting these flowers with my blueberry plants is a form of companion planting. Some companion plants help improve the flavor of one another or provide support, like corn provides for beans, but in this case, I’m using the flowers as pest control.
Easy-peasy-lemony-squeezy! I plant marigold around all my plants facing critter problems which makes my garden even more beautiful. Now for my giveaway. For my stop on the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop, you have a chance to win a print copy of Show Me the Green! (book 1) chapter book and coloring book, plus a nature accents for your garden. They are the cutest and very popular with kids. (Mine loved them.)
Enter for your chance to win via the Rafflecopter below. Thanks for taking part in our blog hop!
Now get hopping–you have a BUNCH more places to visit!
I had heard that marigolds were good for keeping some bugs away and I always make sure i plant some in my veggie garden:) Here in Northern Ontario we have wild blueberries which we love to go picking in the wilds although we do have a tame blueberry bush in the garden:) I have 4 grandchildren who would love your giveaway! lol Thank you so much for the chance!! Carole Burant (carole_57@hotmail.com)
Thanks for stopping by, Carole! Marigolds are definitely one of my go-to flowers in the garden. They’re pretty AND functional. And please share the hop with your grandchildren!! There will be free books and giveaways during our Facebook party. 🙂
nice pics
Thank you — and good to see you again this year! Good luck 🙂
Thanks for the gardening tips! My nephew would love this book.
The books are definitely FUN. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!
I j I just put the end pieces OF soap in a watering container and then when I water the plants the sOap gets on them and it keeps the bugs away
Cool! Good to know. 🙂
I HAD AN ENTIRE Pumpkin patch go bad once! IT BROKE MY HEART AND I STILL HAVE NO CLUE WHAT KILLED THEM!!!
UGH. Unfortunately, no way to tell without seeing the damage. Sometimes it’s those darn underground beasts!