Wish you could direct that rain this way, Sharon. We really do need it. Looks like another water rationing summer for us. We are always in a drought.

I would if I could, Pegi. It was raining so hard for awhile the water puddled and pooled all over my yard. It's still there, though the rain has slowed to a drizzle. I sure hope this helps our drought situation.

It is necessary for me to, I live on a thousand square yards plot with a garden of 10 feet by 16 feet. In this 160 square feet fitting things has to take ingenuity. I have more plants then the square feet's. I will be posting a few photographs on the gardening forum soon as it has gone totally dormant . Not even a squeak out of any corner. Then you can see some of my inventory.
Regards,
Arif.

Looking forward to the photos, Arif!

Great article Sharon! I may even try a little combination planting myself this year.

Combos would really be pretty in your gardens, Margaret.
Beautiful though they already are

Hey Pegi, I grew up just a few miles from where you live. We had plenty of water back in the 50's & 60's and could grow just about anything.
Lots of mulch and soaker hoses work well when you have to conserve water.

Even as a little girl, you knew plants needed each other, Sharon! Smart kid!

Great article. I didn't know basil and geraniums had anti pest qualities.I will have to go back to review as well. I have slowly added herbs and greens to my flower beds. I had some good luck (by accident) when I threw out parsley seed last year just to have some green in the winter. It hardly grew but when I pulled away my summer flowers last fall,...there was very healthy parsley!
Love your garden Lynn!

Mostly I was just trying to get away from that fencing and the scratchy twine, KY.

Anna, somehow I correlate it to the scent of things. If I really want to keep bugs away, I add a little potted tansy here and there. And I really love nice surprises like your parsley. It will take some experimenting, but I am excited to try this throughout all my gardens.

Thank you Anna.
I think planting different types of plants together also makes it more difficult for the pests to identify what it is they are trying to find.

Why, they blind or something .
Regards,
Arif.

No not blind, but it is easy for pests to find their favorite food if they don't have to search through plants that they don't like.
We have been losing our second growth forests because they were replanted with just one variety of fir tree, instead of replanting the way the forest originally was. With other evergreens and deciduous trees mixed in.

That I can understand .
Quick exit strategy, Lynn.
Regards,
Arif.

Bugs find food and mates by smell. Interplanting confuses the smells and the bugs!

Parsley grows in my flower bed near the back door. It makes interesting seed heads, similiar to dill, and attracts a lot of pollinating insects. Parsley reseeds itself quite readily.

So, what veg to grow amongst Antirrhinum, Petunia mixed bed? I was thinking of mints, fenugreek and spinach. Spinach is a magnet for insects. One bed of mixed flowers already has Mustard, Radish of various kinds, Rape seed, Collard greens and I don't remember what else I dumped in. Mustard, Collard and Rape the green leaves are cooked with curds in a veg dish called saag. If any one wants the recipes do a search for Sarsoon ka Saag(mustard=sarsoon), Karam Saag(collard =karam) and Taramira saag(taramira=rape). There is another saag that grows in summers. Kulfa saag, when I enter in search I get recipes. Lynn, you will love this arid plant Kulfa .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...
It is sweet and sour both.
Regards,
Arif.

I don't usually plant petunias in beds, instead I plant them in pots, almost as an afterthought. Mints are usually a pretty good deterrent as are bee balm and basils.

Interesting about curds and greens.

Thank you Sharon. Good night, it is 2.22 AM wish I could stay.
Regards,
Arif.