Our Top 5 Summertime Companion Plants
The perfect garden wingmen—working, blooming, and buzzing all summer long.
Creating a thriving summer garden isn’t just about planting food crops—it’s about building a community. Companion planting (aka guild gardening) is a smart, low-maintenance way to nurture both plants and soil using natural partnerships. Here are our five favorite summertime companions that keep the Clemson Tea Farm buzzing.
1. Basil
Category: Pest Repellent & Insect Attractor
Sweet basil isn’t just for pesto. Its fragrant oils confuse aphids and whiteflies while luring in pollinators and parasitic wasps. Perfect under tomatoes or around squash.
We tuck basil between tomato rows and next to calendula. By midsummer, it’s humming with bees and practically glowing green.
2. Crimson Clover
Category: Nitrogen Fixer & Groundcover
This vivid beauty fixes atmospheric nitrogen, feeding heavy feeders like corn, cucumbers, and summer squash. Bonus: it forms a thick mat to block weeds.
Pro tip: Cut it back before it goes to seed and drop the clippings as mulch to keep the nitrogen right where you need it.
3. Borage
Category: Dynamic Accumulator & Taproot
This star-flowered stunner is a garden workhorse. It mines calcium and potassium from deep soil layers, feeds pollinators, and self-sows like a generous guest.
At Clemson Tea Farm, borage surprises us yearly by popping up beside tea plants and peach trees. We let it.
4. Nasturtium
Category: Pest Trap + Groundcover
Colorful and sassy, nasturtiums lure aphids and flea beetles away from your main crops. Their sprawling habit keeps soil cool and covered.
Pro tip: Edible leaves and flowers? Yes, please. Add a peppery bite to summer salads and a pop of gold under corn stalks.
5. Yarrow
Category: Beneficial Insect Attractor + Dynamic Accumulator
A pollinator magnet and soil-builder, yarrow’s feathery leaves hold nutrients while its flat flower heads draw in ladybugs, hoverflies, and parasitic wasps.
Yarrow under plum trees may lead to fewer pests and better bloom set by July.
Pro Tips for Planting Your Summer Guild
Group by function: Choose at least one from each guild role (nitrogen fixer, pest repeller, taproot, attractor, groundcover)
Layer your layout: Use low-growing companions like thyme or clover beneath taller crops
Let volunteers live: If dandelion, borage, or plantain shows up—consider it an accidental gift
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