Magical Marigolds
Ever seen a patch of cheerful yellow marigolds and felt an instant mood boost? They do a lot more than brighten up your space—they work hard behind the scenes.
Here's why every gardener, from newbies to seasoned pros, can fall in love with yellow marigolds:
1. Nature’s Pest Patrol
Yellow marigolds are superstar bug magnet. When you plant out a blooming marigold plant before other flowers set blooms, research shows they lure in western flower thrips two weeks earlier than standard monitoring and intervention methods (like yellow sticky traps), helping growers catch infestations before they wreak havoc.
The color yellow is very attractive to pests - think of the blooms on common garden plants like pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon, and tomato plants. They’re all yellow! Insects know they will get a tasty bite if they flock toward this color. So use this to your advantage!
And out in the garden, marigold release a chemical compound called Limonene from their leaves (that oh-so-recognizable scent that they’re known for) while the roots release compounds—like alpha‑terthienyl—that suppress nasty nematodes in the soil. As those compounds are working their magic, their blooms attract helpful insects like ladybugs, hoverflies, and parasitic wasps. Nature is awesome.
2. Pollinator & Beneficial-Insect Magnet
A single marigold bloom? Buzzing with life. Bees flock to them for pollen, while little garden heroes like parasitic wasps come hunting for pests . It’s an all‑in‑one combo: pretty flowers and garden protection.
3. Easygoing Gardeners’ Dream
If you can water a plant, you can grow marigolds. They handle sun, heat, drought, poor soil—even skip the fancy fertilizer. Seed them directly or start indoors, then relax as they thrive. Did someone say “low maintenance” ? A little deadheading and you’ll have blooms all season. Later on in the season, allow seed heads to form and either save the seeds or let nature do the work for you and allow them to self seed.
4. Garden Aesthetics That Pop
Nothing beats a splash of sunny yellow or golden orange. These flowers lift your garden’s energy—especially during gray weather. And with varieties in red, bronze, and orange, you can customize your color show.
5. Companion Planting Superstars
Pair marigolds with tomatoes to fend off hornworms and white fly, with cruciferous veggies to confuse cabbageworms, or with beans, squash, cucumbers, and eggplants for all‑around garden chemistry thanks to the Limonene released by their leaves. Plus, their roots bring extra nematode protection underground via compounds such as alpha‑terthienyl. Why would you not plant marigolds?!
6. Kitchen & Herbal TLC
Yes, they're edible! Certain marigold types have peppery petals that brighten salads, soups, or desserts. Always do your research to find reliable information before eating any of your blooms.
And the Calendula (pot marigold) relatives? Tea, tinctures, or salves from these flowers have legendary skin-soothing properties—ideal for minor burns or bug bites.
Calendula marigolds (the pot flower cousins) are packed with flavonoids, carotenoids, and more—offering anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant benefits. People have used them for treating sunburns, cuts, skin irritations (like eczema), eye inflammation, ear infections, and even menstrual cramps. Always do your research to make sure your variety is safe to eat! And when in doubt, find a reliable source for herbal remedies. The Elderberry, located here in Charlottesville, Va, is my go-to!
How to Grow & Use Yellow Marigolds
Planting Tips
Pop seeds or transplants in full sun and well-draining soil
Water sparingly—marigolds handle drought better than soggy roots
Deadhead spent blooms to encourage nonstop flowering
At the end of the season, allow seed heads to form and either save the seeds or let nature do the work for you and allow them to selfseed
Wait until the seed heads are completely dry before clipping off the plant to save the seeds
Garden Pairings
Near tomatoes, squash, melons, and peppers to deter pests
Along vegetable row edges for nematode control
Mixed with pollinator‑friendly flowers for added buzz
Tomatoes and Marigolds; a classic pair
DIY Extras
Edible petals: sprinkle over salads, teas, or desserts (be sure it’s edible Tagetes or Calendula types)
Herb remedy: steep petals for skin‑soothing teas or apply infused oil on minor scrapes
Always research what variety you grow to make sure it’s safe to eat!
Yellow marigolds—simple, sunny, and smart. They give your garden color and protection, draw in pollinators, deter pests, and even lend a hand in natural remedies. All this while being a breeze to grow.
So go ahead—scatter some marigold magic in your garden this season. It’s nature's way of saying, “I’ve got your back (and your blossoms).”
While marigolds are powerhouses in the garden, I want to set a couple things straight:
Marigolds are rumored to be a deterrent to critters like deer, slugs, and snails. These plants can work wonders but they won’t do everything! Deer especially love to munch on marigolds, so don’t be surprised that they don’t survive the next family of deer that passes through!
They will not deter pests like spider mites, aphid, and thrips, as discussed above. They will actually act as an easy target for these pests and become infested before your prized vegetable plants are harmed. This gives gardeners time to identify the pest and take measures to naturally reduce their effect on surrounding plants.
If interested, the GrowVeg channel on YouTube has a wonderfully informative video about marigolds, including how to make your own preventative pest spray with marigolds. I love their channel and have learned so much, so be sure to check out their other videos!
Farm Updates
Summer came in hot! Both literally and figuratively. We’ve had heat indexes of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) regularly throughout the month. The flowers are loving it as are the weeds!
Oh the weeds… We left for three days to attend a family wedding in Pennsylvania and returned to a garden that looked like it hadn’t been tended to in over a week! And our weed eater isn’t working, so it’s growing even more out of control.
“I often think that the gardening year is a bit like a journey up a mountain, and in spring, you’re picking on the lower slopes, and you’re busy and you’re preparing and you’re making progress, but now this is the summit. This is what we do all of our gardening for, so it’s important not just to be endlessly busy, doing jobs, trying to master the garden, but for once, just stop… take it in… and enjoy it.” - Monty Don
I had the opportunity to go on a few flower farm tours across the state this month. It’s so helpful to see what others are doing and how they’re doing it! Every farm is unique and I learn something new every time.
At a flower farm near Farmville, Virginia
This farmer used their property as it was and planted within the existing landscape. Very relatable! I do the same thing here at Giardino Foresta!
From Farmville to Newport News, I saw farms that grew like I do within their existing landscape and forested areas, to newly established farms with freshly planted rows, to farms that have been operating for decades. Networking is awesome and learning is awesomer. I have a couple more farm tours coming up in July, so I’m really looking forward to those!
During all of my drive time, I’ve come to realize that building a new business is like building good soil—both require patience, care, and the right ingredients for long-term growth. If you try for quick results and instant gratification, you likely won’t last long.
At first, the ground might look bare—just like a blank business plan. But you start by enriching it: composting ideas, turning past experiences into nutrients, and mixing in research like organic matter. You test it, tweak it, and amend it over time.
You don’t expect crops—or customers—to thrive overnight. First, you nurture the environment: building relationships like building a sturdy trellis, setting up systems like irrigation, and protecting against setbacks like you would pests or erosion.
More hands make lighter work - in gardening and in business
Over time, the foundation gets richer. What once seemed slow and uncertain becomes a fertile, resilient system where good things grow—organically, sustainably, and with purpose.
Because just like good soil, a strong business isn’t built fast—it’s built right. With help from flower farming mentors, business advisors, and marketing specialists, I’m working my way from the ground up to build this business.
This pumpkin chose the very top of the arch to grow - thank goodness!
And speaking of a sturdy trellis, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that mine is sturdy enough to support these pumpkins! Two healthy pumpkins are growing on the trellis, along with zucchini (trained to grow vertically), luffa gourds, yardlong beans, and hyacinth bean.
The glorious trellis tunnel! You can see the other pumpkin on the left side, held up by some very supportive pantyhose.
I’m kind of obsessed with this. It’s magical to walk through and even the dogs love to sit under it (especially on hot days!)
And So. Many. Pests. I’ve seen cucumber beetle, squash bugs, and aphids to name a few. However, I’ve also seen nature working her magic by sending in beneficials like lady beetles, hover flies, birds, and parasitic wasps. It’s not about eradicating, instead it’s all about maintaining a balance.
From mid-May where the pumpkins were just a few inches tall and everything else was a seed in the ground… to the end of June with pumpkins growing, a zucchini harvested, and vines climbing up the trellis!
Flower farming is tricky in that lessons learned will likely not come back up for another year. For example, pests and disease issues that I experience now will likely happen next year, but with notes taken in the moment, I’ll be better prepared to take preventative measures earlier in the year before these issues even arrive. But that’s also part of what I love about this - ever-changing, ever-challenging and always a beautiful result.
Would you believe it, it’s almost time to start autumn crops already! With about 12 weeks left until the first day of autumn and, here in zone 7a, about 16 weeks until the first historical frost, it’s about time to get the autumn plant babies growing! I’m planting some Ornamental Kale for the winter along with things like snapdragons that will overwinter for next spring. These babies need a solid 4-6 weeks to grow large enough to plant outside, so I’ll be sharing my seed starting process in July.
I use soil blocks for almost everything, though it’s not practical for every seed. I’ll get into that more next month!
Soil blocking has allowed me to start hundreds of plants in a very small space. This photo shows about 500 plants!
If you’d like to learn about how to start seeds using the soil blocking technique, be sure to read July’s blog post in a few weeks! If you haven’t already, sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss it!
