My garden has two clusters of marigold plants. These are loaded with delightful orange flowers. I can see these marigold flowers from my kitchen window. When I’m washing the dishes, I often take a little moment to check out these flowers. Their cheery nature always makes me happy.
Random Marigolds
These marigold plants weren’t planted in these areas by me. They are what I call my random marigold plants. Any plant that pops its head up in my garden of its own accord, I call ‘random’ plants. I have also heard gardeners call theirs ‘volunteer’ plants.
I often let marigold plants go to seed in my garden. That’s how any random plants occur. The wind will blow the seed to settle somewhere in the garden. Or the seed heads will drop close by. Then I’ll get a surprise display of marigolds later on down the track.
What are Marigolds useful for?
I love this paragraph from ‘Companion Planting in Australia’ by Brenda Little.
“I asked a friend what he understood by the term companion planting. ‘Marigolds with everything’ he said.
The roots of marigolds give off a substance which drives away eel-worm. They are therefore good to plant near potatoes, tomatoes and roses.
Dogs won’t cock their legs against pots which contain marigolds.
The Mexican beetle forsakes bean rows which have marigolds growing among them.
A clump is useful in every flower bed; an edging gives protection for veggies.”
Popping some marigolds into a jar or small vase brings happiness into the house. I often have a jar on my window sill or sitting on out table.
Collecting Marigold Seeds
It is easy to collect marigold seeds. Once the flower heads dry out, you can pluck out the seeds.
There are loads of seeds in one flower head. I store these in a paper bag then place it in my seed tin. I also store marigold seeds in a glass jar.
Planting Marigolds
I do have a lot of Marigold seeds. If I have an area that I would like marigolds to grow in, I will pop the seed in a jar with some potting mix or compost (it’s usually what I have handy). If you had seed raising mix, you could use this as well.
Give the jar a shake and sprinkle this mixture over the area you’d like Marigolds to grow in.
Water this area daily and before you know it, Marigold seedlings will be popping their heads up!
Marigolds, like most flowers do like a lot sun. All my marigolds grow in areas where there is full sun. They are easy to grow and are hardy.
Do you have Marigolds in your garden? What do you like about them? Please feel free to comment below.
Interested in learning more? Check out Mother Earth News interesting post on further uses for Marigolds. I like the recipe for Marigold Balm, useful for tired, aching feet.
