Which Herbs Do Not Go Together? | Garden Guide
Last updated: 4/17/22
There’s always a first time for everything and for me this is the first time I’ve read that herbs can’t be planted together.
Why?
Perhaps they’re allergic to one another or maybe the soil doesn’t agree with one of them or maybe one sneezes when another is planted beside it.
Whatever the cause it’s important to learn of the reasons why this is the case and know the herbs that cannot be planted together and those that can be.
Green thumb Gardener occasionally links to product and/or services offered by vendors to assist you with all your gardening needs. Some of these may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if items are purchased.
Want to Download a Garden Hack Guide for FREE
Enter your email below and we will send you a guide to help you SAVE money in your garden.
Fennel
Fennel is a herb you should avoid planting in your garden and around other herbs as well. Practically nothing enjoys being planted near it and if they are, they either won’t grow well or give a good flavor.
But like everything else it also has a very important function in nature. It has plenty of nectar with which it attracts pollinators to your garden and as a result you’ll get your fruit bearing plants pollinated to produce fruit.
Don’t Plant These together:
- Dill
- Pretty much any other plant especially beans, peppers, and tomatoes.
One solution to this lack of love for fennel by other plants is to plant it away from your garden, herb garden or any other containers in which you’ve planted your veggies.
This precautionary measure will protect your other plants from losing their flavor or from harm to their health and growth.
Wormwood has a similar effect on other plants around it so you’d need to take the same precautionary measures as you did for your fennel herb plant.
One advantage that wormwood has on your garden is that it discourages the presence of snails and slugs that could negatively affect the growth and health of your garden plants.
- Complete 34 piece kit
- Pot it: 9 reusable pots
- Plant it: 9 packets of premium seeds (Dill, Basil, Chives, Thyme, Parsley, Oregano, Cilantro, Sage, & Mustard)
- Mark it: 9 bamboo markers
Rue, Anise and Dill
The three herbs rue, anise and dill are received with open arms by the other plants in your garden because they are all beneficial growing companions to a few other vegetables and herbs growing there.
However, they pose a threat to some of the other plants and can actually affect them in a negative way.
Avoid Planting Rue, Anise Or Dill Next to:
- Sage
- Basil
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
The herbs anise and dill will have a negative effect on your carrots, while dill goes a little further and potentially harms your garden tomatoes.
But it’s not all harm to the other herbs and vegetables in the garden from these threesome because in actual fact, rue can benefit figs that grow in the same garden
Anise for its part has the propensity to improve the growth and health of your coriander plant and dill is known to benefit the growth and flavor of your cabbages, lettuces and onions.
So it’s a balanced situation which may keep in mind before you throw the three out of your garden.
Garlic
It’s always a good idea to keep strict monitoring of the plants that you grow in your garden as it may ultimately impact the flavor and the health and growth of your plants.
If you succeed in keeping the antagonistic plants away from one other, you’ll definitely find a big change in your plants whether they are vegetables or other herb plants.
You will find for instance that although garlic and onions may flourish well together, they will in fact hamper the health and growth of your beans and peas.
Avoid Planting Garlic next to:
- Bean
- Peas
- Sage
- Asparagus
However, on the other hand they will definitely help improve the growth, flavor and health of your roses, beets and cabbages so it pays to keep a constant watch out for how your plants are growing in relation with other plants.
Mint
There is no stopping this herb from outreaching all over your garden. Let it not surprise you because it’s an invasive plant and you have been warned before allowing it into your garden.
If you nevertheless go ahead and plant it don’t be surprised if you find yourself always bending to pull lots of its twines when it starts invading your garden.
Avoid Planting Mint Next to:
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Thyme
The thing about mint is that you don’t really need lots of it for say adding to your cup of tea and despite the inconvenience it can cause, it’s still a good herb to have in your garden and you can’t seem to have enough of it to refresh your mouth with.
Another excellent thing about mint is that the fragrant smell of it literally drives aphids and flea beetles madly scuttling away as fast as they can.
It’s prudent to plant your mint plant close to your cabbages, kale, cauliflower and radish.
It will chase away any hungry pest that wants a piece of these delicious veggies and if you plant it close to your carrots, it will repel any carrot flies that try to invade your vegetable plants. You can also plant them near your onions to get rid of onion flies.
The presence of mint is also beneficial for the protection of your other vegetable crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprout, beets, kohlrabi, lettuce, peas bell peppers, chili peppers, squash and salad burnet.
Mint is so popular and likeable because of its fragrant smell that it’s very difficult not to find it in any vegetable garden. It chases away any annoying pest and that perhaps another reason why every plant in the garden loves it.
Chives
This herb plant is a great all round companion for most of the vegetable and herb plants growing in the garden.
It makes common sense to plant chives anywhere in the garden but especially around rose beds which has now become the popular practice of rose gardeners.
Avoid Planting Chives Next to:
- Beans
- Peas
This particular herb plant scares away the rose bush’s arch enemy, the Japanese beetle and it reduces black spot and will help the growth of your roses.
All the other herb plants just love chives working in consort with it in enticing pollinators to approach and assist in increasing their bountiful yields of fruit and vegetable plants.
They actively guard against aphids, small white garden pests that demolish everything in their path. It’s the ideal herb to plant them alongside your next pea, lettuce and celery and other vegetable crops that come under the attack of aphids.
Rosemary
The rosemary herb plant falls in the category of fennel and wormwood which is to say it doesn’t have many herb and plant friends in the garden or anywhere else as far as gardens go. But lucky for Rosemary there’s a friend in sage.
Avoid Planting Rosemary Next To:
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Pumpkins
- All herbs aside from sage
Nevertheless to even up then low popularity scores with the herb clan, rosemary is the maestro partner to many vegetables that you grow.
And guess what, broccoli turns out to be the #1 vegetable that rosemary prizes as a growing companion. It repels the insects that threaten the growth of broccoli heads while at the same time the broccoli plant enriches the soil around rosemary to thrive, a really superb symbiotic relationship.
Rosemary also cherishes the growing companionship of many other vegetables.
These vegetables include beans, cabbages and hot peppers.
Basil
Basil stands abreast with rosemary in their fondness for vegetables rather than their own kind, the herb plants, but there are also differences.
Whereas sage is the one exception for attracting the attention of rosemary as a companion, basil has two exceptional friends in the herb plant class, chamomile and oregano.
Avoid Planting Basil Next To:
- Rue
- Sage
The veggie-herb alignment is easier to identify and appreciate in so far as leafy friendship is concerned. It’s a non-separable relationship that resembles peas in a pod.
No matter whether they both adorn and offer delicacy as top filling of a pizza or some other delicacy, these two will stick together like glue.
This is how they are in the garden environment where they lavish each other by complementing the other with exquisite flavor.
If that’s not enough, basil also finds growing companions in bell peppers, potatoes, chili peppers, asparagus, eggplant, beets and cabbages.
Basil works in consort with marigolds as perfect partners in keeping away harmful pests from themselves and their companions, so planting marigolds with basis is a good idea.
Some of the remaining herbs including those already discussed that enjoy being planted and grow well together include:
- Sun and water loving cilantro, tarragon and basil
- Mediterranean herbs sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano and lavender go well together
- Thyme relishes the company of sage and rosemary
- Parsley, cilantro, tarragon and basil are great companions for chives all enjoy moist soil
- Parsley and basil also make good companions with both liking full sun and plenty of water.
- Lavender and rosemary can also be grown together as they also love sun and water.
Final Thoughts
There still remains a plethora of information on planting herbs. The information shared in this article should open your horizons a little wider.
Nature is funny because I know that I may have planted something that doesn’t prefer each other, yet they still grew.
Sometimes you can just experiment and see for yourself. It doesn’t mean that the information here is useless, but just use it as a guide and not the final word.
