The 12 Best Tomato Companion Plants For Your Best Crop Ever

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Nearly every single item in Katie Mendelson’s home is vintage. Some pieces were found at auction or thrift stores—like the stepback cupboard that she stripped and painted bright blue—while others were passed down to her in some way.

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Savvy gardeners know that deadheading spent blooms keeps annuals and many perennial plants looking their best week after week. But not all plants require deadheading. Some plants continue to bloom their hearts out with little to no pruning, while others are self-cleaning, meaning spent flowers drop off naturally by means of wind, rain, or plant growth. These plants keep on blooming even when you don’t remove the old flowers. If you’re looking to save time in the garden, consider growing plants that don’t require deadheading to stay in bloom.

Zucchini is the squash of summer. This green, mild vegetable often leaves people with a plentiful harvest that has them trying everything from zucchini bread to zucchini panzanella before they end up offering zucchini to any neighbor or friend that will take it.

You can’t even begin to garden without the proper preparation of your soil. Well-maintained, aerated soil is necessary for your plants to be as strong and as healthy as possible. However, this is often quite a daunting task, requiring soil to be rejuvenated through loosening and turning over. Forks make this easy – they’re one of the simplest but most effective tools in the garden. Not only are they great for cultivating and getting areas of soil ready for planting & sowing, they’re also designed to easily lift and transplant plants. There are several different types of forks, and most people’s go-to is a digging fork. However, these forks can be unwieldy, and ill suited to smaller areas of the garden like borders. They can also be a  little too clumsy for more delicate tasks like transplanting plants and harvesting from raised beds. Border forks offer an easy alternative. A  little smaller and narrower than digging forks, they’re great for getting into tight spots without compromising on strength or efficiency. They offer a finesse that makes them great for weeding, or lifting clumps of perennials from cramped borders. Their lightness also helps if you have mobility issues, or if you lack strength and stamina. A good border fork turns all of the above from a backbreaker into a breeze. It should be indispensable; a lifetime companion in the garden.

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There's perhaps no vegetable more humble than the potato. This starchy spud grows quietly underground but, once you've dug up your harvest, you're treated to everything from sides dishes like perfectly crisp homemade french fries to scalloped potatoes to recipes from breakfast to dinner. Potatoes are the versatile workhorse of the kitchen and, depending on the variety you plant, your harvest season could last several months.

From kitchen gardens to edible landscapes, rosemary pairs beautifully with a wide range of plants. Many of the same herbs and vegetables that mingle with rosemary in the pot, like peppers and oregano, also work well as garden neighbors. Rosemary companion plants also include ornamental species. With upright and spreading forms available, rosemary can be used in a variety of garden settings, from containers to rock gardens. The soft blue flowers attract pollinators and other beneficial insects while complementing ornamental grasses and perennials.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) is one of the easiest plants to find in the wild, since its strong, sweet scent hangs on the air. Native to most of Europe, it is a common sight and smell in our woodlands and hedgerows in summer, twining itself around trees and scrub and luring a wide variety of wildlife. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oberon describes Titania's sleeping place as 'quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine'. It is certainly a plant fit for a queen, since each of the flowerheads resembles a crown of cream and gold, formed of a ring of tubular blooms.