An Unassuming Flower That May Be The Key To Keeping Pests Out Of Your Garden

If you are looking for some plants that will repel pests from your garden naturally, you should add sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana), a flowering perennial herb, to your list of potential candidates. Sweet marjoram, a member of the mint family, is an aromatic herb historically known for its medicinal and culinary applications. In your garden, it can serve as a beautiful groundcover that flowers in early summer. While this plant certainly is lovely to look at, it's also an effective pest deterrent. 

Marjoram repels onion maggots and can confuse white cabbage moths if you plant them next to brassicas. It also repels pumpkin beetles, a pest that feasts on the leaves and flowers of several plants, including melons and cucumbers. In addition to these garden pests, sweet marjoram also serves as a strong repellent for mosquitoes. This herb-repelling plant can act as a suitable replacement for pesticides when you're trying to drive away certain pests, making this a more environmentally friendly option.

Sweet marjoram requires full sunlight and well-draining, dry to average soil to thrive in your garden. If you wish to use sweet marjoram as a groundcover or a border plant, you'll need to be in warmer parts of the country: It thrives in zones 9 and 10. Space the plants about 20 inches apart, as sweet marjoram will grow to about 24 inches in both width and height. If you have the perfect plant pot, you can use that to house this herb instead. Sweet marjoram is also a great companion plant for specific herbs and vegetables.  You can plant it next to tomatoes, onions, and potatoes, as well as others, to enhance their flavors. To better understand which plants work with each other, you should know what companion plants are and how they impact your garden.

While sweet marjoram works to repel pests in your garden, you can also use it in the kitchen for food and medicinal purposes, as well. The leaves can be made into a tea, and the herb is also a great addition to your next meal due to its citrusy and floral flavor profile. Not only can it be used in cooking fresh dishes, but it can also be used to flavor preserved meats, as well. As far as medicinal purposes go, it has many uses. Due to the chemicals in the plant, sweet marjoram has been used as an anti-inflammatory, a solution for digestive issues, a menstrual regulator, and a reducer of stress and anxiety.