Bergamot, also called bee balm, is a native perennial that causes bees to linger longer in the garden.

Some things in life make ideal combinations like cookies and milk, peanut butter and jelly, and spinach and radishes.

Spinach and radishes not only make a delicious spring salad, they also make perfect partners when grown together in the garden. Radishes attract destructive leafminers to their tasteless leaves and away from the spinach. These botanical buddies are one example of how plants team together to help each other thrive.

Companion planting is the art and science of arranging combinations of two or more plants to benefit one another. Planting certain crops together saves garden space, controls pests and encourages healthy gardens.

Native Americans practiced companion planting for centuries by growing corn, beans and squash together. These vegetables are called the Three Sisters because they complement each other when planted in the same hill. The corn provides tall stalks for the pole beans to climb. The beans help replenish the soil with important nutrients. The large squash leaves serve as a living mulch to maintain soil moisture and choke out weeds.