Companion planting

I'm not trying to be self sufficient and I'm not averse to a little chemical warfare every now and then but in an effort to try and reduce the money I spend on chemical sprays and fertilisers I've developed a keen interest in companion planting.  It's the first year I've tried it and I'm watching various clumps of edibles with interest.  Certainly, the blood sorrel and strawberries planted nearest the garlic and parsley seem to be the biggest but time will tell.


The patch of mint that we inherited with the house was the sickliest, weakest mint I ever saw so I ripped it all out.  Then, a few months later after the parsley had seeded I ripped all that out too.  Low and behold if the mint didn't come back thick and juicy!  I didn't think anything of it until during my research I discovered that mint HATES parsley.  Now that the parsley seeds are all germinating around the mint patch I'm watching with interest to see what happens... there may be something to this companion planting lark after all!

Strawberry companion planted with garlic and parsley - the garden doctor plants.

Wish there was a plant that quelled oxalis!

 Parsley, garlic and chives are supposed to be excellent companions for roses, improving scent and preventing aphids... watch this space.  Did you know sorrel is from  the oxalis family?

The official strawberry patch (although I tend to plant strawberries everywhere) companion planted with garlic and self-seeded parsley.  I read somewhere that planting red flowers near your strawberries confused the birds so I tried a few red pansies.  They're rather wind tattered!  My strawberries last year were very mutated due to a lack of pollinators so this year I've also planted bergamot (bee balm), cerinthe major and phacelia to try and attract the bees.