Marigolds

You may have seen my post on marigolds previously. They were my grandma’s favorite flower. She liked the BIG orange ones. I think she used them primarily to try to keep out rabbits. They are known to deter pests - like rabbits and deer from eating vegetables; and oh my - she had the biggest vegetable garden! She loved to grow anything and everything. During the depression, she fed her family from everything out of her canned goods and root cellar. My dad said they were never hungry. She planted them all around the edges and through the center rows of veggies.

They are also known as a trap crop for Japanese beetles. These stinky little buggers LOVE them. But, when planted near something you DON’T want them to eat, the marigolds protect your precious other plants.

Marigolds are easy to grow from seed. sow in full sun about 1/4” deep. cover lightly with 1/16’ of soil. Kids love them as they usually germinate within 4-10 days. Don’t bother buying pre -sprouted, here in Wisconsin they will grow like wildfire. They like to be thinned once sprinkled in your garden to about every 6” or so. Harvest a stem that is the same length from your hand to your elbow. They will send up new side shoots and the stems will stay stronger.

I personally LOVED the African Queen series of marigolds. However, plan for a little bit of staking towards the end of summer as the stems get very heavy. They were giant blooms and worked fantastic for a bright focal flower in arrangements. I have found that the White Swan series is beautiful, but the Japanese beetles bite and munch, which left brown spots along the edges. Keep them well watered per week, but definately not soggy.

I plant them now as they remind me of her as well as my community of flower lovers. And if you missed and didn’t read my last post, see below, because I believe it 100%!!!

What if you were a marigold?

Not the flashy, look-at-me kind of beauty… but the quiet worker in the garden. The one doing a hundred good things at once, most of them unseen.

You’d be the protector—tucked between rows, gently deterring pests so others can grow without harm. Less need for вмешling, less need for chemicals. Just your presence, doing its job.

You’d be the connector—drawing in pollinators, those tiny, busy miracles that make growth possible. Without them, there is no fruit, no bloom, no future.

You’d be the healer of the soil—working below the surface, where no one claps or notices. Softly suppressing what harms, encouraging what helps. Nurturing life from the ground up.

And yes… you’d be the burst of color. The joy. The little spark that makes someone stop and smile in the middle of an ordinary day.

You’d even be the quiet remedy—supporting, strengthening, offering goodness in ways people have trusted for generations.

And standing here on the farm, I realize…

That’s you.

This community.

You support this space in ways that go far beyond what’s seen. You help protect it, grow it, sustain it. You bring beauty, encouragement, and life—sometimes without even knowing it.

The Polish Poppy doesn’t bloom on its own.

It blooms because of marigolds like you 🌼