Plants are part of an ecosystem at the root of it. (Haha, root)
No, really. Plants and all life surrounding them are a community of organisms that coexist. Right? So, some organisms play better together than others. When they play perfectly well together, like kids who just hit it off and you could ignore for a couple of hours knowing that they will just jam out to the music they make together, they grow healthier, stronger versions of themselves. The expression of their DNA is maximized.
Likewise, there are plants that do not play well together. There are plants that don’t play well with a majority of the life around them. They still have their place and their purpose, but they just want to be left alone, “Is that so wrong?!”
As Yardeners who are learning, because there are a lot of plants out there to choose from – or not choose if they so happen to grow in the patch of dirt you are currently working on, it can be helpful to know which ones are friends and which ones are not. In the plant community, we call these plant “companions.”
Some great examples of companions can be found in produce gardening. Tomatoes and marigolds, tomatoes and oregano or cilantro or basil. Ok, so tomatoes are easy to get along with. Good for them.
Some good examples of plants that do not play well together are Walnut trees, and, well, most things. See my post about Walnut trees.
The most basic tenets of this concept are important for perennials when you are planting, yes, but also 5 years from now. 5 years from now the plant that grows to 8 feet tall and 12 feet wide might overcome the small bloomers you put next to them. So it’s a concept that’s worth giving a thought to before planting (really, before purchasing 😋).
Yardening 