Sweet Alyssum

Another of my very favorite companion plants is sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima). Plants are so easy to grow from seed, and the tiny flowers are a magnet for beneficials. I sprinkle seeds around my vegetables and find that they are a great friend to all of them. I prefer the white varieties like Snow Crystals or Carpet of Snow for the vegetable garden. Oh, yes...and they smell delicately sweet. They cannot survive a hard frost. My garden alyssum does best in mild weather--that is, the warm days of spring and fall. I have noticed that the plants tend sulk in the hot, humid days of our North Carolina summers. They're drought-tolerant, very quick to blooms, and are just an absolute joy to have growing among the veggies in the kitchen garden.

Tomatoes in the Sunshine

Well, these Jetsetter tomatoes are just begging to be sliced into a BLT, don't you think? I'm happy to report that although I did end up losing an entire bed of tomatoes earlier this summer, the back bed of tomatoes have managed to pull through. Yes, they are a little battered from blight, but I haven't sprayed them with anything...and they're still producing. It's not the most abundant tomato crop I've grown, but at least I'm able to eat some and give a few away to friends, too.

Baby Fall Cucumbers

I planted the few Picklebush cucumber seeds I had left over from spring in the "bed of tomato despair." It was too painful looking at all of the bare spots beneath the tomato trellises, so I just stuck the seeds in the dirt. Of course, when I don't expect anything from the garden, the strangest things happen. Three cucumber plants are sprawling all over the place and have latched on to the tomato cages I left in the bed. I'm hopeful that a second "fall" crop of cukes will be arriving soon.

Perennial Chamomile

Chamomile is one of the most cheerful companion plants I've found. Not only are the delicate blossoms a nice contrast to larger-leafed veggetables in the garden, but they also emit a honey-apple fragrance that is terrific! I bought two of these plants last month and put them in the bed on each side of my bamboo trellis (originally for green beans...but now maybe for cucumbers). I hope these guys will come back next spring. The beneficial insects love them.