Plant a Garden Party!
- Diana Pierce
- Feb 18
- 3 min read
Michelle Bruhn's Companion Planting Secrets
By Diana Pierce | February 18, 2026
Every good party needs the right guest list—and your garden is no different.
Michelle Bruhn from Forks in the Dirt is speaking at the Minneapolis Home & Garden Show (Feb 27-28) about companion planting, and she’ll tell you exactly which flowers your vegetables want sitting next to them (and why it matters more than you think).
I sat down with Michelle to get a preview of what she’ll be sharing, and our conversation opened my eyes to what’s really happening in our gardens. It’s not just plants growing side by side. It’s chemistry, communication, and yes, a little bit of garden party planning.
“Modern companion planting really boils down to planting biodiversity,” Michelle explains. “I think of our job as gardeners as planting a garden party where most everybody’s going to get along. Who do you sit next to at the dinner table?”
It’s not just plants growing side by side. It’s chemistry, communication, and strategy.
Why Flowers Belong in Your Vegetable Garden
Diana: Some gardeners are thinking, “I only want to plant vegetables.” But you say we need flowers too?
Michelle: Any monoculture is more prone to diseases and pests. Every plant releases natural chemical signals to communicate with insects and each other. Plants can’t run away from danger, so their defense systems are built in. And those defenses help neighboring plants too.
When you bring flowers into your vegetable garden, you’re drawing in beneficial insects and masking your veggies from pests. It’s not instant—you might have a little die-off, but then the aphids grow enough that ladybugs and lacewings show up. Nature needs time to balance things out.
Diana: How much space should flowers take up?
Michelle: Start with what you want to grow, then research what flowers help those plants. When searching online, add .edu or .ext to your search—that gives you university-researched information instead of folklore.
It’s not about a ratio. Tuck nasturtiums where they can help with squash bugs. Use trellises for vertical growing. Figure out how to maximize your space creatively.
Three Powerhouse Flowers
Sweet Alyssum: “Tiny but mighty,” Michelle says. It attracts beneficial insects and welcomes in the natural predator for Japanese beetles. Plant it with daisies and yarrow, and you’ve tackled beetles by planting something beautiful.
Calendula: Michelle’s favorite. The variety ‘Resina’ has the most concentrated chemical signals.
Here’s what’s wild: half of Michelle’s calendula plants are covered in aphids, yet they thrive. “Then the ladybugs, lacewings, and hoverflies come in. It’s happening there, not on your other plants. That’s what we want.”
Marigolds: Not all marigolds are created equal. The varieties with real science behind them are Lemon Gem, Tangerine Gem, and French marigolds. But here’s the part I found most interesting: Michelle says the most potent part of marigolds are the roots. At the end of the season, she advises to chop those plants off at soil level and let the roots decompose. As they break down, they release a compound that kills harmful nematodes in the soil. “Plants are just doing what they naturally do,” Michelle says.
Michelle recommends three seed companies with great organic options:
The Big Picture
“Plant biodiversity into your garden,” Michelle emphasizes. “Even if you want six tomato plants, put three in one place and three in another, surrounded by other happy things.
Have fun planting a beautiful garden that you want to be in.”
Diana’s Challenge: A Companion Planting Pot for Small Spaces
I had to speak up here. I don’t have a big gardening space—just pots on my east-facing deck with about six hours of sun. What would Michelle recommend for a fun start?
She lit up. “Make one with veggies and flowers together!”
Here’s the recipe that Michelle suggested (and I’m absolutely trying this):
The Thriller: Stake a patio-style cucumber on the north side so it won’t cast shade. (Pot= 5–7 gallons or 14+ inches in diameter).
The Filler: Lemon gem marigolds and parsley in the center. Sage works nicely too.
The Spiller: Nasturtiums flowing around the edges and falling down. They help fend off cucumber beetles.
Michelle’s tip: Plant thick enough to create a living mulch on top. You can also mulch pots with straw or grass clippings while everything grows in—this keeps soil-borne diseases from splashing up onto leaves when it rains.
“If you do that, send me a picture,” Michelle said.
Challenge accepted.
Catch Michelle Bruhn at the Minneapolis Home & Garden Show:
When: Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28
Where: Minneapolis Convention Center
Show Dates: February 25-March 1
Until next time, keep blooming!
Sincerely,
Diana
© 2026 Diana Pierce
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