2025 Energy Park Gardens

Each year, I am lucky enough to speak at We Energies Energy Park every day of the Wisconsin State Fair. There is never enough time or space on my handout to cover the three topics I present. I am hoping whether you were able to attend one or more of my presentations or not, you will find this information helpful as you plan, plant and tend your gardens.

Companion Planting

You’ll find lots of definitions for companion planting online, in books, and when talking to other gardeners. Some strategies are based on facts and research while others are ideas passed along from one gardener to the next. As a former Extension agent, I always look for research-based information to pass along to you.  I like to take a broad view and consider how pairing two or more plants together can increase nutrients in the soil, improve pest management, reduce pesticide use, help with pollination, and increase harvests.

The University of Massachusetts includes a wide range of benefits that can be obtained with companion planting. Keep companion planting strategies in mind to achieve the desired benefits as you design your gardens.

Diversify Your Plantings

As you plan your ornamental and edible gardens, keep diversity in mind. Avoid individual gardens or large beds filled with the same plant, known as monoculture.  If a disease or insect pest moves into a monoculture planting, it can quickly move from plant to plant, decreasing productivity or killing the plants. Dutch Elm Disease and Emerald Ash borer are just two examples of the consequences of limited diversity in plantings.

The same is true for different but related plants susceptible to the same insects and diseases. For example, growing related plants like eggplants, tomatoes and peppers in the same garden bed, makes it easier for insects and diseases to move from one susceptible plant to the next. Even diversifying the varieties used can help. The University of California tested four varieties of broccoli. As the number of different varieties in a test plot increased, the more the aphid infestation decreased.

Diversity also helps confuse insects that use visual clues to find their preferred plants. Combining plants of different colors, heights and shapes makes it harder for the insects to find their favorites. Including plants that look like those they prefer attracts them, but when they begin to feed, they realize it is not the plant they prefer.  Misdirection results in the insects wasting energy and can help divert them away from your desirable plants.

Using Companion Planting to Manage Insect Pests

Managing insect pests is what most gardeners think of when they hear the word companion planting. The strategy involves growing plants together to repel or attract and trap insect pests to prevent them from damaging your desirable plantings. Marigolds may be the first plant that comes to mind.  This plant is promoted as an insect repellent and trap plant when grown in and around a vegetable garden. Unfortunately, the scope of control and way to achieve results is often overlooked. Both the French and African marigolds produce a substance that is toxic to root nematodes. But the plants must be tilled under at the end of the growing season to release the chemicals into the soil.

A few studies did find marigolds and basil planted among tomatoes helped reduce thrip damage. A study out of Iowa found that both marigolds and nasturtiums planted with squash helped reduce damage from cucumber beetles and squash bugs. And the old practice of planting nasturtiums with squash to reduce squash bug populations is supported by research. As for repelling rabbits, however, I have found rabbits and woodchucks dining on marigold plants.  But if you like the look of marigolds, adding them to the garden adds some welcome color and single-flowered varieties help support pollinators.

Strongly scented plants are often credited with repelling insects. A smelly plant does not always mean it emits odors that can mask the smell of other plants, attract insects serving as a trap plant or repel insects from the garden.

The University of Minnesota shared a few research-based companion plantings that seemed to work. Growing spicier members of the cabbage family such as arugula, mustard, rapeseeds and napa cabbage helped trap flea beetles, reducing the damage to other plants. Just make sure you want to sacrifice these plants for the good of others. Perhaps covering susceptible plantings with row covers that let air, light and water through but keep out flea beetles and prevent cabbage worm damage may be a better option.

This research also found that planting 3 or more different species of plants together was more effective at controlling flea beetles than using a trap plant. Once again, diversity does seem to make a difference.

Thyme, onions and nasturtiums grown near broccoli were found to reduce cabbage looper and cabbage worm damage. Including marigolds, onions and nasturtiums among cabbage plants also reduced the damage to cabbage plants done by these two insects. Plus, you’ll enjoy the additional herbs, onions and the beauty of the edible and ornamental nasturtium leaves and flowers.

Blue Hubbard squash has been found to be an effective trap for cucumber beetles, squash bugs and squash vine borers. Just plant it away from your desirable plants and several weeks before planting your other squash and pumpkins for the best results. A thorough cleanup of this and other susceptible vine crops in fall will also help reduce pest populations the following year.

You can find lists and companion planting charts in books and on the internet. Some are based in research and others are not. As you review the list, consider what you want to accomplish with companion planting, the individual plant’s needs, and how they may or may not support each other. The University of Florida provides some companion planting charts in the PowerPoint presentation, Organic Vegetable Gardening – Companion Planting.  Keep the growing conditions in your region in mind as you use this information to plan your garden.

Attracting the Good Guys

More than 80% of all flowering plant species rely on animals, such as native bees, honeybees, butterflies, moths, bats and birds, for pollination. Apples, pears, almonds, blueberries, cucumbers, melons and squash are just a few of the more than 1,200 crops that rely on pollinators. Tomatoes don’t need a pollinator but when the bumblebee works its way into the flower and helps transfer the pollen, the plant produces more tomatoes for you to enjoy.

Including a variety of flowers that appeal to the many different pollinators helps attract them to the garden. Increase the number of pollinators visiting your garden by including a variety of plants so you have flowers all season long. Include various colors and shapes to attract a wide variety of pollinators. You’ll also enjoy the color, variety and season-long bloom these plants provide.

Use native plants suited to the growing conditions whenever possible. The pollinators have evolved with these plants into a mutually beneficial relationship. This means you’ll attract more pollinators and provide food and homes for many of their offspring.

Include plants that also attract predatory and parasitoid insects. These insects feed upon or parasitize other insects, helping to reduce damage in the garden.

Lady beetles, praying mantids and spiders are the most well-known insect predators. However, the smaller predatory wasps and mites often go unnoticed but also feed on other insects in the garden.  These eat their prey while insect parasitoids lay their eggs on or in their prey and feed on the host until it dies.

You may have noticed a parasitized tomato hornworm with white rice-like protrusions from its body. These are cocoons of a braconid wasp. The wasp eggs are laid on the hornworm, eventually hatch and the larvae feed on the inside of the caterpillar until they are ready to pupate into an adult wasp.  The cocoon, where this transformation occurs, is the white rice-like protrusion. When you see a parasitized hornworm leave it be. Once the adult wasps emerge, they will get to work on other hornworms in your garden.

Include plants that attract beneficial insects to the garden. Grow members of the carrot family, like cilantro and dill, that attract small parasitic wasps and flies.  Plant colorful members of the aster family like blanket flower, coreopsis, goldenrod and sunflowers that are attractive to lady beetles and soldier beetles. Include members of the pea family that attract a variety of beneficial insects. Grow some sweet alyssum, basket-of-gold alyssum and mustards to attract both parasitoids and predatory insects. Pop in some verbenas that are pretty to look at and help bring in a variety of beneficial insects to the garden.

Skip the pesticides that can harm the insects you are trying to attract. Tolerating a bit of damage rewards you with nature helping to manage the problems. If you kill the insect pests the beneficial insects need to survive, they will go elsewhere to dine. Working with nature helps you grow healthier, more productive plants with less effort.

If you need to intervene, try more eco-friendly products, like OMRI-certified, organic Summit Year-Round® Spray Oil, which kills a wide variety of soft-bodied insects in all stages (including eggs) on contact and poses few risks to beneficial insects that land on the treated plant. Manage harmful caterpillars without damaging other types of insects with Summit’s Biological Caterpillar and Webworm Control. The active ingredient is Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (Btk), a naturally occurring soil bacteria that only kills true caterpillars and webworms and can be applied to edible plants right up to harvest. Always read and follow label directions when using any chemical for the safest, least harmful to beneficial insects and most effective control method.

Improve the Soil

Diversifying plantings by growing plants with different types of roots can help improve your soil. Many gardeners use long tap rooted radishes, like Daiken, that break through heavy, compacted soil for aeration and allow subsequent plantings an easier time developing roots.

Including beans, peas and other legumes in your planting rotations helps improve the soil. These plants fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and help reduce the garden’s overall fertilizer needs. Grow members of the legume family, like snap peas or green beans you like to eat, that also boost the nitrogen levels in the soil.

Or use legume cover crops, like cowpeas, to suppress weeds and improve the soil. Other plants, like rye, buckwheat or clover, are also used for this purpose. You can plant the cover crop in fall and till it into the soil in spring. Plant early enough in fall so the cover crop can become established before winter. This also helps the cover crop withstand wildlife that may graze upon this green treat. Dig or till the cover crop into the soil at least one month prior to planting.

Make sure the cover crop you select is suited to your location and gardening style. Some are hard to kill and can become a problem. Do your research before selecting and planting cover crops in the garden.

The Three Sisters planting strategy used by many indigenous communities is a perfect example of plants providing mutual support. The corn supports the pole beans; the beans add nitrogen to the soil; and together they create a visual deterrent to the squash vine borer. Plus, the squash covers the soil, acting as a mulch and according to University of Minnesota may even deter some critters, like raccoons, from eating the corn.

These are just a few of the many benefits of combining plants. For more garden pest management strategies, watch my free Organic Insect Pest Management for Vegetable and Flower Gardens WEBINAR RECORDING (enter password: L0zb=6*K) and DOWNLOAD THE HANDOUT.

Vertical Gardening

This centuries-old technique has been used to increase gardening space, grow food, screen bad views and create privacy. Growing vertically can also help increase airflow around and sunlight to all parts of the plants, helping reduce the risk of powdery mildew, leaf spot, and other fungal diseases in certain plants.

Trellis, Obelisks and Other Supports

Training vines up a trellis, onto a fence, over an arbor or onto any type of DIY or purchased plant supports is one form of vertical gardening. Many of you may already use these strategies in your vegetable garden or outdoor living spaces.

Growing pole beans, peas, squash, melons, tomatoes, and other vining edible plants onto supports saves growing space, reduces the risk of disease and makes harvesting easier. Secure the large fruits of melons and squash onto the support to prevent them from breaking off the vine. Place a sling of netting, cloth or old nylon stocking under the fruit when it’s a few inches in diameter and secure the sling to the supports.

Add some fun, save money and reduce waste by giving discards a second life as plant supports. Long tool handles can be secured to form a teepee for growing pole beans. Train cucumbers, squash and melons onto an old gate.

Use vine-covered trellises to screen a bad view, define a space, and act as a sound barrier. Check the view while sitting or standing, depending on how you will use the space.  Listen and identify any source of noise you need to muffle. Hanging baskets and containers of tall tropical plants can also provide needed screening.

Create your visual screen quickly by training annual flowering vines like hyacinth bean, cardinal vine or climbing nasturtiums onto a trellis or fence. Pole beans and Malabar spinach make edible and attractive annual options. Use perennial vines, like the native honeysuckle vine, clematis or climbing roses, for years of color. Mix the two to quickly cover the trellis while waiting for the perennial vine to establish and reach its mature size.  Plant two vines with different bloom times on one trellis to extend the colorful flower display. Or look for those that bloom at the same time to double the floral impact.

Create a living shade canopy using larger vines like grapes, Virginia creeper and American bittersweet trained over arbors, pergolas, and other structures to provide needed shade. These deciduous vines drop their leaves during the winter, allowing warm sunlight through while the leaves provide welcome shade during the warmer growing season.

Keep in mind the impact these vines have on plants growing under the shaded structure.  Some plants will appreciate the shade while sun lovers will decline. Select plants that are suited to these growing conditions. Then consider any mess from falling flowers and impact from any edible fruit like grapes that provide a tasty treat for you and uninvited guests like squirrels and birds.

Some vines have twining stems, tendrils or use other means to attach to the support.  Once guided to the supports they attach and usually need minimal direction from you. Others need to be tied to the support with twist ties or twine initially and as they continue to grow.

Containers and Tall Narrow Plants

If looking for other options, consider containers filled with tall grasses, tropical plants, flowers or trellised vines. Place several containers together to block an unwanted view in a narrow space or line up several to separate your private outdoor space from the rest of the landscape. A row of narrow upright trees like Urban®, North Pole™ and Fruit Snacks® columnar apples can do the same. Check the tags to make sure whatever plant you select will thrive in the growing conditions and fit in the space once mature.

Espaliered trees are living works of art that can create open screening or dress up a bare wall or fence. Fruit or ornamental trees can be pruned into a decorative pattern. This is not something for those who are reluctant, unwilling or unable to regularly prune these plants to keep them in the desired shape.

Green or Living Walls

Green walls are another way to add greenery to your outdoor rooms or where planting space is unavailable. You’ll find a variety of options to purchase and plans for making your own. Make sure whatever option you choose is secure once in place, weather-proof and relatively easy to maintain.

An easy option is dressing up an existing wall or fence with containers. You can purchase pots from your favorite garden center or turn recycled cans, old boots, worn out jeans, gutters or other items into planters. Mount them in an attractive layout to dress up a bare wall and add growing space.

Add a low nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer like Milorganite to provide months of nutrients for your plants. You won’t need to fertilize again until mid-season.  Consider incorporating Wild Valley Farms wool pellets, a sustainable amendment made from 100% wool from U.S. ranchers, to your potting mix. This certified organic product reduces the need to water by up to 25%.  Add your plants and water thoroughly. Continue to care for these as you would a hanging basket or other type of container.

Plastic wall planters are interconnected pots or planting cells. The smaller the pot or cell, the more often you need to water. Make sure all plants, top to bottom, can be properly watered. Consider systems that are self-watering to extend the time between watering. Just fill the water reservoir as needed so you’ll be watering less often. Or select one with a built-in irrigation system.

Making maintenance easier with slow-release fertilizer, Wild Valley Farms wool pellets and irrigation systems means proper care is more likely to happen. But even with the best of intentions and care, plants can die. Evaluate how the system you buy or make allows you to deal with failing or dead plants. Those that allow easy replacements of problem plants will minimize the time you’ll spend looking at a bare space in your green wall.

DIY Vertical Garden Options

You’ll find lots of plans for creating a small- or large-scale vertical garden. Look for a plan that matches your budget and skills and complements your landscape design. I recycled a corner of a pallet and some old jeans to create two vertical gardens.

Converting a shoe caddy into a vertical herb garden is very easy. Punch holes in the bottom of each pouch to ensure proper drainage.  Fill pouches with a quality potting mix, add a slow-release fertilizer and your favorite herbs. These small pouches will need frequent watering so place your vertical herb garden in a sunny area where it can easily be watered once or twice a day.

Perhaps you have a few old picture frames headed for recycling. Convert them into a wall-mounted garden. You can grow just about anything in this planter. Use succulents to create a work of living art with their texture, shape and color. Compact impatiens, begonias, herbs or colorful drought tolerant succulents are all possibilities. As always, select plants that will thrive in the available sunlight.

You’ll find more ideas for selecting and growing plants vertically by watching my free Vertical Gardening WEBINAR RECORDING and DOWNLOADING THE HANDOUT. You can also find additional information here.

New and Unique Varieties

As gardeners, we are often looking for something new or unique to add to our gardens and containers. That first trip to the garden center in spring has many of us filling our carts with lots of new and unique flowers and vegetables.

Always check the tags and seed packets to see if the plant will thrive in the growing conditions and fit in the available space once mature. Consider testing annual flowers in container gardens before adding a flat of them to your garden beds. This is a great way to see how they perform and decide if they deserve a place in your gardens.

Here are just a few plants that may be new to you:

Soiree® Series Vincas (Catharanthus roseus)

Vincas are full sun and heat tolerant. The Soiree series offer unique flowers, compact growth habit and lots of flowers.

• Soiree® Double Pink Improved – double bright pink flowers, 10-14” x 20”
• Soiree® Flamenco Vinca Series
  • Soiree® Flamenco Senorita Pink – fringed ruffled bright pink petals with light/pink-white edge, 8-12” x 12-16”
  • Soiree® Flamenco Strawberry Picote - fringed ruffled dark pink petals with light pink edge
  • Soiree® Flamenco Salsa Red – fringed, ruffled red petals with lighter edge 8-12” x 12-16”
  • Soiree® Flamenco Electric Salmon Eye – fringed ruffled salmon petals with dark eye, 8-12” x 15 to 20”
• Soiree® Kawaii® Series Vinca - compact plants with small, delicate flowers
  • Soiree® Kawaii® Hot Pink –hot pink flowers 6-10” space 12-15”
  • Soiree® Kawaii® Lilac Dream – lilac petals with dark eye, 6-10” x 12-18”

Mandevilla (Mandevilla syn. Dipladenia)

Deciduous climbing, shrub-type and upright hybrids, full sun, heat and somewhat drought tolerant, no deadheading needed, deer and rabbit resistant

• Sun Parasol® Mandevilla Series
  • Sun Parasol® Firedup™ Pink & Coral - 20-24” x 12-16”
  • Sun Parasol® Original XP Bluephoria – pink buds, blue flowers, 12-24” tall x 24"
  • Sun Parasol® Original XP Double Pink Blush – double pink flowers, 12-24” tall x 24"
• Sundenia® Supreme Vivid Pink - compact plants with larger vivid pink flowers; coral, red improved & white also available

BeeDance® Bidens Series (Bidens hybrid)

Grow in full sun, semi-compact plants, 8-12” x 10-24”, light honey fragrant flowers, no deadheading needed

• BeeDance® Painted Orange
• BeeDance® Painted Red
• BeeDance® Painted Yellow
• BeeDance® Painted Yellow Improved

Granvia Strawflowers Series (Bracteantha)

Mildew resistant, heat & humidity tolerant, they also make nice additions to fall containers.  Full, vigorous plants with larger flowers than other strawflowers, 18-30” x 18-24”

• Crimson Sun
• Gold
• Harvest Orange
• Orange Flame
• Peachy Keen
• Pink & White

Salvia Salgoon® Lake Series (Salvia hybrid)

Large flowers like anise-scented salvia (Salvia guaranitica) on a compact 16-22” plant. The flowers attract hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators.

• Lake Blueberry - purple blue flowers
• Lake Garda – pink flowers
• Lake Como – electric blue flowers
• Lake Flamenco – bright pink

Summerlong™ Hyssop Series (Agastache mexicana)

Long lasting flowers from spring through late summer, full sun, drought tolerant, deer resistant, 16-22” x 12-14” (hardy zones 7 and higher)

• Coral
• Lemon
• Lilac
• Peach
• Magenta

More Unique Varieties

• Starcluster™ Cascade Lipstick Pentas (Pentas lanceolata) - 8-10” space 24”, mounded to semi-trailing
• Fanatix™ Pink Fanflower (Scavola aemula) - 8-12", space 18-22”, better branching, heat and drought tolerant
• Eucalyptus forrestiana - full sun, moist well-drained potting mix, (hardy zones 8 to 12)
• Snowflake Dusty Miller (Centaura ragusina ‘Silver Swirl’) - 8-11” tall, space 13-16”, full sun, drought tolerant, rabbit resistant (zones 6b and higher - I overwintered mine in a pot in the garage)

• Cherrybells Cuphea (Cuphea ignea) - 10-12”, space 8-14”, more compact than the species, no deadheading needed
• Stratus Blue Lobelia (Lobelia hybrid)– light blue & white bicolor flowers, displays good heat tolerance
• Monarch Magic Flossflower (Ageratum houstonianum) - trailing ageratum that is supposed to have great monarch butterfly appeal, full to part sun, some deadheading to keep looking its best, drought tolerant, 6-12” tall, space 8-12”
• Coconut A-Peel Black-eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia) – up to 60”, full to part sun, no deadheading, heat tolerant
• Splash Dance™ Bolero Blue Petunia (Petunia hybrida) - 10-12” tall, space 18-24”, blue flowers with white speckles, suppose to hold flecking all summer no matter the temperature

• Surfinia ‘Heavenly Cashmere Pink’ Petunia - 8-12” x 18-24”, mounded semi-trailing habit, moderate vigor

• Cabrio™ Red Sunset Million Bells (Calibrachoa hybrida) - 4-8” tall x 12-16” wide, uniform mounded habit

• Supercal® Premium Petunias Series (Petunia x Calibrachoa hybrid) – heat & cold tolerant, good rain recovery, self-cleaning & disease resistant

• Sunbeckia® Black-eyed Susan Series (Rudbeckia hirta hybrids) - large flowers, long lasting blooms, strong stems, 14-16“ tall, 13 varieties available

• Red & Orange Sugar Basket Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) - 12-18” tall mounded/trailing plant good for containers and hanging baskets, 1” cherry tomatoes, 70 to 74 days to harvest

• Woolly or Wooly Kate Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) - blue, woolly leaves, 2-3” sunny yellow fruit with blue/purple shoulders, Indeterminate, 75 days to harvest

• Vesuvio Tomato (Piennolo Del Vesuvio paste tomato) - Italian heirloom grown on the volcanic soils; paste tomato with thick stems that traditionally was hung for months indoors, concentrating their flavor

• White Diamonds Fern-Leaved Bleeding Heart (Dicentra hybrid) - 14-16” x 16-18”, full to part sun Dicentra that blooms all season long, attracts bees & hummingbirds, deer resistant, zones 3 to 9

• Incrediball Storm Proof™ Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) - 3.5-4’ x 3-4’, denser with sturdier stems than other smooth hydrangeas. Blooms are not as large as the original Incrediball®.

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