8 Reasons to Grow Calendula Flowers in Your Garden
Today I want to talk about the sunny little flower called calendula. It is actually a flowering herb and can be used in so many great ways. Read on to find out my top 8 reasons to grow calendula flowers in your garden.
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I wish I had found calendula a bit sooner than I did, but I am so happy that I now know all the great benefits of having this flower in my garden and now I won’t be without it.
I love the pops of sunny yellow and orange that calendula brings to my garden space. It is an easy to grow and prolific flower to have.
My Top 8 Reasons for Growing Calendula
1. Beautiful to grow – I think that calendula flowers are like a pop of sunshine. Calendula can be grown in containers, in the flower garden, or among the vegetables. They also do great in with the herbs.
2. Easy to grow for any gardener – Whether you are a beginner or not, calendula will be an easy plant to grow. You can choose to grow it from nursery starts or larger potted plants you can buy to start out. Or since it is easy to grow from seed, you can give it a try that way too.
3. Edible – The calendula petals are edible and can be used in many ways. You can add them to rice to make a saffron-like color, add to soups, broths, or summer salads. They can also be used to liven up drinks with their pretty color. Eating them will give you an immunity boost.
4. Attract Beneficial Bugs and Pollinators – Bees and butterflies love calendula. Which is great for your garden because you want those pollinators so you have a harvest. Calendula is also a trap crop. That means you plant them to attract the bad bugs like aphids, white flies, and thrips so they stay away from your veggies. Those bugs won’t destroy the calendula plants like they would other veggies. Calendula is also known to be good for companion planting among veggies due to the sticky substance it produces. It will attracts the aphids which tend to eat your brassicas, for example.
5. Great for cut flowers Calendula have a nice long cut flower vase life. They are a great flower to bring into your house. I love having fresh flowers out of the garden in my house and these pair lovely with other flowers from my garden.
6. Medicinal – Calendula provides so many benefits as a medicinal herb. As I’ve talked more about that here, calendula is a flowering herb that has been used for thousands of years for many health issues. Harvesting and drying the flowers will give you a lot of options for how you can use the petals. Mostly calendula is used to make teas and slaves or skin products.
Calendula is mildly anti-microbial, great for dry skin, rashes, burns, bug bites, and scratches. It promotes healing, helps prevent infection due to being anti-microbial, and is great for diaper rashes. We have it on hand for all those things, but also as a wound healer because it is a great alternative to over the counter ointments that we don’t like to use as much.
Head over here for more info on how to harvest and dry calendula.
7. Feed for our animals – Our chickens love calendula flowers. They will benefit from the same medicinal properties that we will. The bright petals will also color their egg yokes a nice dark color. You can feed the chickens the flowers and also add them to their nesting boxes for the anti-microbial properties.
8. Save Seeds or Self-seed – I love how easy calendula seeds are to save. If you leave some flowers on the plant beyond time to harvest them, they will dry out. They start producing seeds that are a green color and will dry out to a light brown/tan color. Once they are dry, you can take them off and save them to plant the following year. Or they can come back by self-seeding when the seeds are not removed and fall to the ground. If you live in a warmer climate, your calendula could overwinter and not die back.
Different Types of Calendula to Grow
I learned that there are two types of calendula beyond the different varieties of colors you see. There is the older traditional type of calendula that has been around a long time. It has been what people have used medicinally and saved seeds from. This type will produce a lot of seed and does best in spring and fall due to the cooler temperatures. It is best suited for in-ground planting and will self-seed if you leave the seed heads on to drop once mature. These older types are also best for the pollinators with how the petals are formed. You want to have this variety in your garden for the many reasons listed above.
The other type of calendula are the new hybrids. They are bred to be almost sterile and do not put much effort into producing seed. They do especially well in containers. Unlike the older varieties, they will do well throughout the heat of the summer and keep on blooming until frost. One downfall, if you call it one, is they will not produce much seed. That can be good if you are not wanting to worry about them self-seeding and spreading where you might not want them.
Some of my Favorite Varieties of Calendula
Most calendula you will see is a bright pop of orange or yellow. But there are also some that are more pink and salmon colored. Here are some of my favorites with links so you can see what they look like.
Strawberry Blond – This is the variety that first caught my attention in a community garden. I decided I needed to know more about calendula right then. It is a warm and colorful pink and yellow with a bit of dark red undertones.
Resina – Bright yellow daisy-like blooms with an occasional orange. Also higher in medicinal properties than other calendula.
Zeolights – another one that is a bit different from the traditional orange and yellows. According to Botanical Interests Seeds, “Bronzy-orange petals fade to a delicate light pink, artfully contrasting with the yellow base and maroon back”
Pacific Beauty Mixture – Yellow/orange mix that is bushy and perfect for containers or even indoor use.
Pink Surprise – Bright orange-pink colored is a fun one to have in the garden.
The nice thing about calendula seeds is you probably will only have to buy them once. They are super easy to save seed from at the end of the season and you will be able to save enough for many years to come. Every time someone comes to my garden and admires my calendula, I will pluck off some browning seed and hand it to them. I love to share the seeds with people.
Any Other Reasons to Grow Calendula?
I’m sure that there are other reasons to grow calendula in your garden. What are the reasons you love to grow calendula or want to have it in your garden this season? I would love to hear you ideas in the comments. Let’s get growing.
Other Gardening Blog Posts
How to Harvest and Dry Calendula
Top Annual Flowers to Plant in Your Vegetable Garden
How to Save Seeds From Your Garden
Best Flowers to Save Seeds From for Beginners
Winter Seed Sowing for Beginners
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