Zucchini in the front yard!

Zucchini is one of those plants that just keeps giving and giving.  In recent years I've had problems with cucumber beetles and spent hours on beetle hunts without much success.  This year I decided to use a different tactic.  While reading this winter about edible landscaping a benefit that really caught my attention was Biodiversity.  Huh?  I know kind of a fancy word for saying confusing garden pest, in this case the cucumber beetle, by inter planting with the things they love with the things they won't touch.  In other words no more rows, which when you think about it is providing the cucumber beetle a fast food freeway.

I have my cucumber plants in two different beds.  One hill is surrounded by Broccoli, Nasturiums, Calendula and French Marigolds.  The other hill is surrounded by Dill, Calendula and French Marigolds.  The one surrounded by the Broccoli is doing better but it could be a sunlight issues as well as that bed gets about hour more of sun.

My Zucchini I put in the front yard.  In mixed in with a Red Weigela, Snowball Viburnum up closer to the house and between Stella de Oro Daylillies.  Now I do have Rainbow Swiss Chard,  and Asiatic Lillies in that same bed.  Everything growing like rock stars.  My mother (the lady who taught me how to garden) was over the other day and as she came in the house wanted to know what my new bush was with all the yellow flowers on it.  When I told her it was a Zucchini plant, she had to go back outside to take another look.

One of the best things about having the Zucchini right next to the front door and garage is you walk by it all the time.  So you are constantly checking for more squash.  It is coming in now in abundance!  The nice thing is I haven't let any of them get to the size of a tree branch, so it just keeps on producing and producing!