I love watching the dragonflies that come visit my garden! Dragonflies are not just mesmerizing to watch; they are also incredibly beneficial to gardens. These graceful predators play a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance, offering natural pest control and adding to the biodiversity of your garden.
Natural Pest Control
Dragonflies are voracious predators both in their larval and adult stages. As adults, they feed on a variety of flying insects, including mosquitoes, flies, and aphids. By preying on these pests, dragonflies help reduce the need for chemical pesticides, promoting a healthier and more sustainable garden environment. Their larvae, or nymphs, live in water and consume mosquito larvae, aquatic insects, and even small fish, keeping aquatic pest populations in check.
Attracting Dragonflies
Creating a dragonfly-friendly garden involves providing water, vegetation, and a pesticide-free environment. Here are some tips to make your garden a haven for these beneficial insects:
1. Water Source: Dragonflies lay their eggs in water, so adding a pond or water feature is crucial. Still or slow-moving water is ideal. Plants like water lilies can help create a suitable habitat for nymphs.
2. Vegetation: Incorporate emergent plants such as reeds and cattails around your water feature. These plants provide perching sites for adult dragonflies and emergence sites for nymphs transitioning to adulthood. Additionally, tall plants and grasses offer resting spots and help attract the insects they prey on.
3. Avoid Pesticides: Chemical pesticides can kill dragonflies and their prey. Maintaining a pesticide-free garden encourages a healthy population of insects, providing ample food for dragonflies.
Dragonflies vs. Damselflies
While often confused with damselflies, dragonflies are larger and more robust, with wings held open horizontally when at rest. Damselflies are more delicate, holding their wings together over their bodies when resting. Both are beneficial, but dragonflies are particularly effective in pest control due to their size and predatory efficiency.
By inviting dragonflies into your garden, you not only enhance its beauty but also promote a balanced and healthy ecosystem. Embrace these fascinating creatures and enjoy the myriad benefits they bring to your garden sanctuary.
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I didn't take flowers seriously when I first started growing a vegetable garden. I only planted the foods I wanted to eat. But over the years, I have learned that flowers are actually necessary to have in your garden!
Planting flowers and flowering herbs in your garden offers a multitude of benefits beyond just adding beauty. Here are twelve reasons to include them in your garden:
1. Pollination Support: Flowers, especially those rich in nectar and pollen, attract essential pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Flowers produce nectar and pollen, essential food sources for pollinators. By planting a diverse range of flowers that bloom at different times of the year, you can provide a continuous food supply for these important creatures. For example, early bloomers like crocuses and late-season flowers like asters ensure that pollinators have resources throughout their active seasons. These pollinators are crucial for the reproduction of many plants, including vegetables and fruits in your garden. When I figured this out, my garden production soared!
2. Pest Control: Flowering herbs and certain flowers attract beneficial insects like ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps, which help control garden pests naturally by preying on aphids, caterpillars, and other harmful insects.
For instance, dill and fennel flowers attract parasitic wasps, while marigolds are known to repel nematodes and other harmful insects.
Incorporating plants like lavender, yarrow, and sunflowers can turn your garden into a haven for beneficial insects, creating a balanced ecosystem that reduces the need for chemical pesticides and promotes healthy plant growth. It's so fun to watch the diversity in your garden ecosystem!
3. Color and Beauty: Flowers add vibrant colors and visual interest to your garden, creating a more inviting and enjoyable space. The diverse shapes, sizes, and hues of flowers can transform a plain garden into a picturesque landscape. Planting a variety of annuals and perennials, early bloomers and late bloomers ensures that your garden will have a continuous display of color for the whole growing season. It also is fabulous for your mental health when you see such beauty every time you walk in your garden!
4. Fragrance: Many flowers and flowering herbs, such as lavender, rosemary, and jasmine, emit delightful scents that enhance the sensory experience in your garden, making it a pleasant place to relax and unwind. The beauty and aroma pull me into the garden throughout the day. The essential oils within each plant have unique capabilities to enhance your wellbeing and they just make you feel good!
5. Culinary Flowers: Flowers like nasturtiums, pansies, borage, and marigolds can be used to garnish salads, desserts, and beverages, adding a burst of color and unique flavors. Adding the beautiful colors and flavors of flowers to your meals enhances the whole experience and gives you amazing health benefits as well! I love these - and they are so fun to add for a splash of color in your food!
6. Flavorful Herbs: Flowering herbs such as basil, thyme, and chives not only add beauty but also provide fresh, aromatic leaves and flowers that can be used in cooking to enhance the flavor of your dishes. These are my favorites and I use them almost daily. There is so much you can do to enliven your food and adding fresh herbs is the best!
7. Herbal Remedies: Many flowering herbs have medicinal properties. For example, calendula flowers can be used in soothing salves, chamomile flowers can be brewed into calming teas, and echinacea flowers are known for their immune-boosting properties. I love fresh healing teas and I dry the herbs for later use as well. I love making all sorts of DIY remedies - tinctures, salves, lotions, sprays, etc.
8. Aromatherapy: The essential oils and fragrances from flowering herbs like lavender and lemon balm can be used for aromatherapy, promoting relaxation, reducing stress, and improving sleep quality. I love walking through my garden, brushing the aromatic plants and breathing in their beautiful aromas. Bringing these in the house, putting them in a vase, steeping them in tea, or boiling them for the aroma that is released into the air are great ways to utilize them.
9. Nitrogen Fixation: Certain flowering plants, such as clover and lupines, are capable of fixing nitrogen in the soil, enriching it and promoting healthier growth for surrounding plants. Plant rotation is key, and cover crops can also be used to improve soil fertility and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.
10. Biodiversity: Adding a variety of flowers and herbs to your garden increases biodiversity, which enhances the resilience of your garden ecosystem, making it more robust and less susceptible to pests and diseases. You can create a balanced and healthy environment in your own garden which reduces pest and disease issues, and encourages strong plants. I love planting borage next to my tomatoes - I haven't found any tomato worms in those plants yet!
11. Learning Opportunities: Growing flowers and flowering herbs provides a hands-on way to learn about plant biology, pollination, and the importance of ecosystems. It’s a great way to introduce children and adults alike to the wonders of nature. Every year is a new experiment that builds upon the last. I love trying new techniques and growing new plants and teaching my kids as well!
12. Therapeutic Gardening: The act of planting, tending, and enjoying flowers can have significant mental health benefits. Gardening is known to reduce stress, improve mood, and provide a sense of accomplishment and connection to nature. When I am in my garden, I am totally relaxed and the repetitive actions of weeding and caring for my plants does so much for my mental health.
Examples of Flowers and Flowering Herbs to Consider:
- Marigolds: Bright, pest-repellent, and edible.
- Lavender: Beautiful, fragrant, and great for relaxation.
- Basil: Versatile in the kitchen with attractive flowers for pollinators.
- Echinacea (Coneflower): Stunning, medicinal, and attracts pollinators.
- Thyme: Compact, aromatic, and perfect for culinary use.
- Sunflowers: Tall, cheerful, and excellent for attracting birds and bees.
Incorporating these plants into your garden can enrich your gardening experience and provide numerous benefits to your garden's health and beauty.
Looking to maximize the benefits?
-Choose a variety of plants
-Plan for continuous bloom
-Incorporate companion planting
-Utilize containers and vertical space
-Practice sustainable gardening
-Create a pollinator-friendly garden
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I grew up on a farm, and we had a large garden, but as an adult, I've always lived in the city. I have had varying spaces and had to adapt to where we lived, so I started with a few pots and gradually expanded over the years. I have transformed my present backyard into a wonderful garden that gives us a lot of produce each year. As a mom who prioritizes holistic health for my family, I constantly seek ways to incorporate nature and wholesome practices into our daily lives. Gardening is one activity that has brought joy, education and well-being for my whole family.
If you are hoping to bring these things into your life, but you have limited space, you can do this! If you have the luxury of a large backyard to cultivate, more power to you! Be sure to start small and expand gradually to avoid overwhelm. Your family will thank you for incorporating gardening in your home.
The benefits of home gardening are plentiful!
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I know I am not the only gardener to be plagued by pests! Those tiny green or brown aphids that suck the life out of the leaves and stems, the teeny white flies that love to munch, but stay hidden on the underside of leaves, the microscopic mites that produce icky webbing, and leave the plants barren of the nutrients they need to produce good fruit.
I live in the central valley of California and it is hot and dry in the summer. This weather is perfect for those pests, but not ideal for many plants. One way to help prevent pests in the first place is to have the soil well balanced with nutrients so the plants are healthy and strong. Another way is to have consistent watering and enough water! I water early in the morning. There is not much humidity, so when it is in the 100s, I often water any drooping plants again in the evening just a little to help them perk up.
But that is not always enough. Pests invade anyway! They creep in quietly and before you are aware - you have a full-on infestation! Checking every day can help you spot trouble before it gets too bad.
Commercial sprays are full of chemicals that I choose not to use in my organic garden. Even if I didn't get the commercial sprays on the fruits and vegetables themselves, they would still have trace amounts inside. One reason I grow a garden is to stay away from the pesticide covered fruits and veggies in the stores! I have experimented with some things and found a combination of ingredients that works well as a DIY spray. It is critical to spray the underside of the leaves, as that is where they like to be. Spraying weekly can help trouble areas recover.
Recipe 1:
One squirt Thieves Dish Soap (about 1 teaspoon) You can also use Dr. Bronner's Castille soap
about 1 teaspoon fractionated coconut oil
5-10 drops Citronella essential oil
5-10 drops Peppermint essential oil
5-10 drops Tea Tree essential oil (This is especially helpful for powdery mildew, too)
Recipe 2:
One squirt Thieves Dish Soap (about 1 teaspoon) You can also use Dr. Bronner's Castille soap
about 1 teaspoon fractionated coconut oil
10 drops peppermint essential oil
10 drops orange essential oil
Fill bottle with water or a filtered infusion of citronella or peppermint leaves
Attach a spray top and enjoy.
Spray in the evening, as sunburn can occur when spraying during daylight hours.
You may get some on your skin - this will not harm you, but you may want to rinse the soap off afterwards as it is a little sticky.
Find Essential Oils and THieves dish soap here.
My blogs contain some affiliate links.
Any purchase made is a blessing to my family at no extra cost to you!
Thank you for supporting us!
