Superhero Plants: Take That, Aphids - Gardenista
All of my roses except one–a symbolic New Dawn I planted to grow around the cottage door when I moved to the country a few years ago– are plagued by aphids. Photography by Kendra Wilson. A walk round the garden on a sunny day gives me very green fingers from popping their soft-bellied, pear-shaped little bodies, lest they suck too much sap and make the roses go a sad and peculiar shape. Herb gardens are often rangy affairs with lots of bald patches, so I try to grow spreading plants in the hope that they will all merge together. Chives (allium nutans shown here), Mint, and Feverfew are reliable at performing this task and by happy coincidence they also smell absolutely horrid if you are an aphid. Who would dare to call Feverfew a “weed” on discovering its bug-busting qualities? Shown here is a rather special form with smaller petals, Tanacetum parthenium ‘Virgo‘, from The Herb Nursery, Thistleton. Mint is just such a superhero superherb (shown here: Black Peppermint, mentha x piperita). Let it run riot in a corner, preferably near a plant vulnerable to aphids, and you will be doubly glad to see it sprouting up all over the place. Tansy, tancetum vulgare, is another lovely plant which enlivens a herb garden, bringing height and texture. A packet of Tansy seeds is $1.25 from Heirloom Seeds. An old wives’ tale says: “Always plant garlic beside a rose.” Like most old wives’ tales this is wise and true, and goes for all of the alliums. Aphids love the color yellow, allegedly. How infuriating for them, then,t o find a lovely yellow flower which is also a petunia surfinia. If we can extend this vendetta from aphids to flies in general, there is another glorious summer association with which they fail to agree with us: lemon. A packet of Lemon Thyme seeds is $2 from Amazon. Lemon-scented foliage and an elegant flower as well: heaven.