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Companions for Our Plants of the Year

It’s a Major Award—but you’re the one who wins! Each year, National Garden Bureau selects five top-performing plants, designating them with the “Year of” status. One edible, one annual, one perennial, one bulb, and one shrub achieve the coveted “Year of” status. For 2021, we’ve designated the Garden Bean, Sunflower, Hyacinth, Monarda, and Hardy Hibiscus as plants that you simply must add to your planting plans.

These popular, easy-to-grow, widely adaptable, genetically diverse, and versatile plants belong in every garden. But how do you incorporate them into your landscape, pairing them with companion plants that will ensure their success and make your garden look and perform fabulously?

Take a look at our recommended companion plants to make 2021 the “Year of Your Perfect Garden!”

What Is Companion Planting?

When choosing life companions, we surround ourselves with people who bring out our best selves. Maybe we enjoy the same activities, prefer similar places to live, and boost one another’s confidence and growth through unconditional support. Well-chosen companions enrich our lives and make us feel nurtured, loved, and happy.

Guess what? Plants prefer well-chosen companions, too. Plants benefit from partners that boost their energy, support them, feed them, and share common needs. Who knew that human and plant relationships converge so closely?

Companion planting maximizes the growth and yields of crops by planting mutually beneficial plants next to one another. While the scientific literature on the topic is thin, some companion planting, like grouping plants with similar water, soil, and light requirements, just makes sense. After all, a thirsty hydrangea that prefers partial shade will be unhappy planted with a sun-loving succulent that needs dry soil—and vice versa.

It’s a good garden strategy to grow plants with similar needs together. Other types of companion plants do boast a scientific basis. Peas and beans, for instance, fix nitrogen in the soil, making it more available to nitrogen-craving crops, like corn. Still, other types of companion plantings refer more to garden aesthetics and design: plants that look good and grow well together in the landscape, based on size, structure, and bloom time.

Our “Year of” plants and their companions focus on the different types of companion plantings so you can choose what works best for your garden.

Year of the Garden Bean

Bean Seychelles - 55 days harvest - ideal for fall gardening - National Garden Bureau
Kentucky Blue from All America Selections - Year of the Garden Bean - National Garden Bureau
Jameson from Syngenta - Year of the Garden Bean - National Garden Bureau

Traditionally, vegetable gardeners tend to focus most on companion plants. Adding plants that attract pollinators to veggie gardens to boost harvests or repel pests is a topic many growers swear by.

Three Sister Planting using Year of the Garden Bean - National Garden Bureau

Photo – Hort Coco-UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa

“The most famous of companion plantings is the Three Sisters—sweet corn, pole beans, and squash,” says Jeannine Bogard, Business Lead at Syngenta. “The Three Sisters was developed generations ago by indigenous people to assure they could feed their community. The trilogy of cropping stands true to this day.” A common companion planting that maximizes space and proves mutually beneficial to the crops, the tall corn serves as a natural trellis for climbing beans. The beans fix nitrogen in the soil, which the corn craves. The sprawling squash vines provide a living mulch for the plants, helping to prevent weeds and keep the soil moist and cool. The tangle of squash vines also prevents furry pests, like raccoons and deer, from munching on the corn, as they fear becoming entrapped in the prickly vines.

If you want to grow the traditional companion planting of the Three Sisters garden, try AAS Winners Kentucky Blue or Seychelles pole beans. Both varieties will produce bountiful harvests.

Along with a traditional companion planting like the Three Sisters garden, many veggie gardeners swear by other companion plants to boost harvests and improve plant health. Marigolds, for instance, are known for attracting pollinators, while also repelling some pests, like thrips and nematodes. Some anecdotal gardeners’ accounts tell that planting certain veggies together or with herbs actually improves the flavor of the harvest. For instance, summer savory is thought to improve the growth and flavor of garden beans, while also repelling bean beetles. As an added bonus, the herb tastes great cooked with beans, too.
Beginner Tip for the New Gardener

Choose sun-loving companion plants for beans, as they need full sun to produce well. Grow pole beans on a fence or trellis, and add herbs or flowers at the base of the plant.

Year of the Sunflower

Sunfinity from Syngenta - Year of the Sunflower - National Garden Bureau
Vincent Choice from Sakata - Year of the Sunflower - National Garden Bureau
Solara Blooms from Benary - Year of the Sunflower - National Garden Bureau
Everyone adores the cheerful blooms of sunflowers: it’s the quintessential summer flower. But did you know that underneath the pretty petals lies a slightly sinister secret? Some sunflowers are allelopathic, meaning that all parts of the plant give off toxins that can impede the growth of other plants. If you’ve ever had problems growing plants underneath a bird feeder where sunflower seed shells lay, now you know why!

Here’s the good news: not all plants are affected by sunflowers, and typically the toxin doesn’t spread outside a one-foot radius of the plant. Avoid planting beans and potatoes with sunflowers, but cucumbers, corn, peppers, tomatoes, and squash all grow well with sunflowers nearby. In fact, sunflowers attract ladybugs that prey on aphids, helping to rid the veggie garden of unwanted pests.

Sunrich Lime from Takii - Year of the Sunflower - National Garden Bureau
“Sunflowers are the bright cheery addition to any garden and vase,” says Jessica Cudnik, Flower Product Development Manager at American Takii. “Since they tend to be tall, place them towards the back of a garden or in their own area and layer in front with delphiniums or digitalis. The tall spikes and colors are eye-catching against the backdrop of Sunrich Sunflowers. No need for precision with this easy companion plant: let your own creativity flow.”
Sunflowers also grow beautifully with black-eyed Susan, clematis, coreopsis, dahlia, daylily, Lamium, echinacea, heuchera, iris, lemon balm, and roses. While gardeners typically think of sunflowers as garden behemoths, towering over other plants, newer varieties are available that grow beautifully in containers or smaller spaces. Try AAS Winner Soraya for its beautiful orange petals with dark brown centers. Try growing sunflowers in a cottage garden or mixed border with their favorite companions, and you’ll enjoy a gorgeous display of color all summer and into fall. Leave the flower heads intact for winter interest: the birds will thank you.
Beginner Tip for the New Gardener

Some sunflowers are allelopathic releasing a toxin that can impede the growth of other plants. Avoid planting beans and potatoes with sunflowers, Do plant cucumbers, corn, peppers, tomatoes, and squash alongside sunflowers.

Year of the Monarda

Sugar Buzz Rockin Raspberry Bloom from Ball Horticulture - Year of the Monarda - National Garden Bureau
Scarlet didyma from American Meadows - Year of the Monarda - National Garden Bureau
Monarda Marje Rose from Greenfuse - Year of the Monarda - National Garden Bureau
There’s a reason monarda is such a popular choice for companion planting: pollinators love them. The bright, beautiful blooms not only attract bees, but hummingbirds and butterflies adore the flowers, too.
Monarda Leading Lady Razzberry - Year of the Monarda - National Garden Bureau
“Monarda offer tremendous garden value, and not only for those seeking a ‘natural’ or ‘native’ look,” says Andrew Jager, Marketing Manager of Walters Gardens. “Their stoloniferous habits make them a perfect space filler throughout the middle of the border, and aromatic foliage serves to delight both gardener and pollinator while acting as a natural deterrent for deer.”
If you’re creating a pollinator garden, monarda—also known as bee balm–makes a perfect addition in sunny gardens not only for its nectar-rich blooms but also as a larval food source for several moth species: hermit sphinx, orange mint, and raspberry pyrausta. In addition to the flowers attracting pollinators, they beckon other beneficial insects, such as parasitic wasps, that help reduce pest populations in the garden.

As a member of the mint family, monarda is known for its spreading habit. Divide it every two to three years to keep monarda looking its best. It looks lovely in cottage gardens paired with sun-loving coreopsis, rudbeckia, and liatris, in mixed borders with achillea, echinacea, and geranium, or in meadow-like plantings with grasses, phlox, and helenium. Some of the newer, more compact varieties work beautifully in borders and containers. While native varieties may be leggy, susceptible to mildew, and a bit of a garden bully, modern breeding introduced many superior cultivars for the home garden.

Beginner Tip for the New Gardener

Monarda didyma makes a great tea. It was a popular substitute for real tea (Camellia sinesis) after the Boston Tea Party. It’s also known as Oswego tea, named for the Oswego Native American tribe of New York, who used the leaves for tea.

Year of the Hyacinth

Monet Mixture Hyacinth from Breck's - Year of the Hyacinth - National Garden Bureau
Delft Blue from Longfield Gardens - Year of the Hyacinth - National Garden Bureau
Kansas Mix Blue White from Dutch Grown - Year of the Hyacinth - National Garden Bureau
As the gray of winter begins to melt away into longer, warmer days, the first spring bulbs appear. Hopefully, you’ve planned for this moment back in fall, adding spring-blooming bulbs to your planting plans. If not, make a note to add highly fragrant, beautifully colored hyacinth to your landscape. The Easter-egg colors and sweet scent both look and smell lovely, inviting bees to their early blooms.
Miss Saigon Hyacinth
“Hyacinth bulbs are planted in the fall for blooming early spring,” says Ben van der Velt, Director of Breck’s. “They come in a variety of colors: soft pink, dark pink, dark blue, light blue, yellow, white, red, and maroon. The hyacinths’ loose to dense racemes (clusters) of strong fragrant flowers may be closely packed single or double flowers.”
The Victorians loved them, but so do we. It is their sweet, lingering fragrance in early spring which makes them so popular. Just snip one and bring it indoors. It will perfume your room, and you realize spring has come.”

Often seen mixed with other spring-blooming bulbs, hyacinths look great grouped together in a pastel rainbow of colors along a pathway or near the front of a mixed border. “Hyacinths would pair perfectly with early daffodils and early tulips,” says van der Velt. “They are great for formal plantings.”

As spring bulbs fade, it’s important to leave the foliage intact, as it absorbs energy to feed the bulb for next year’s blooms. Instead, add companions that help hide the fading foliage. Because of their early bloom period, consider adding hyacinths in beds where new perennial growth will help mask the dying foliage. Bleeding hearts, geraniums, and daylilies, for instance, help fill sunny beds, while hostas, heuchera, and astilbe will mask browning bulb foliage in partly shade spaces.

Beginner Tip for the New Gardener

Don’t cut bulb foliage! Let it die back naturally to feed the bulb for next year’s flowers.

Year of the Hardy Hibiscus

Disco Belle White from Sakata - Year of the Hardy Hibiscus - National Garden Bureau
Summer Carnival from Walters Garden - Year of the Hardy Hibiscus - National Garden Bureau
If you’re looking for the perfect plant to give your garden a tropical vibe—even in a northern zone—you’ll love the addition of hardy hibiscus. Much like their warm-weather cousins, hardy hibiscus blooms add a sultry, summer resort-feel to your garden, perfect for a staycation. But unlike tropical hibiscus, these hardy shrubs bloom beautifully year after year, with most plants hardy in zones 4-9. The dinner-plate-sized flowers add a stunning focal point to landscapes, while the pretty foliage creates great texture and serves as a beautiful backdrop to mixed plantings.
Creme de La Creme from JBerry - Year of the Hardy Hibiscus - National Garden Bureau
“The diverse color palette and compact growth habits of the varieties in the Summer Spice® Hardy Hibiscus collection make them ideal selections for a layered landscape,” says Tamara Risken, Marketing Director for J. Berry Nursery and Genetics. “The varieties work well when planted together. Bleu Brulee™ and Plum Flambe™ are perfect for a cool tone-themed landscape, while Crepe Suzette™ and Pink Champagne™ would absolutely pop for gardeners who prefer a bright, bold look. For companions outside of the collection, the dark foliage and complimentary bloom time of Black Diamond® Crapemyrtles provide a stunning background in both tree and shrub formats. For a companion to go in the front of the landscape, we are loving the texture, habit, and durability of Feather Falls Carex.”
Spectacular hardy hibiscus blooms steal the show in the garden, so what can you plant with it to complement such a star? When choosing companions for hardy hibiscus, look for plants that like full sun and moist, well-drained soil. If you prefer to let its star-power shine, choose low-growing plants, like sweet alyssum or sweet potato vines, to steer the focus to the brilliant, big blooms. If you want to create a rich, mixed planting, consider adding sun-loving monarda, daylilies, Joe Pye weed, caladium, or miscanthus for a richly textured, layered planting. Many varieties grow fairly tall, so check the size before you plant in a mixed border.
Beginner Tip for the New Gardener

Hardy hibiscus may take a while to wake up in the spring, especially in northern climates, so don’t worry if new growth doesn’t appear right away.

No matter what type of garden you plan this season–vegetable, formal, cottage, mixed borders, or mini-meadow–you’ll find great companions to complement NGB’s “Year of” plants.

“This post is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau and author member when using all or parts of this article.”

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Companion Plants for our NGB Plants of the Year! - National Garden Bureau
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