Marigolds: Summer's Foolproof, Fragrant, and Edible Annuals

From Oaxaca's Day of the Dead to Your Garden

Marigolds (Tagetes) are summer's workhorses. In Oaxaca, Mexico, tens of thousands of varieties paint the city gold during Day of the Dead. At home, they're just as spectacular—easy, heat-loving, tolerant of poor soil and drought.

Benefits

• Foolproof summer annuals for beds, borders, pots.
• Taller varieties = long-lasting cut flowers.
• Signet petals edible; foliage oils repel harmful insects, attract beneficials.
• Scent: "rich, complex, absolutely intoxicating" (used in perfumery).

Prolonging Bloom

Deadhead African/French types regularly (snap stem under flower head). Avoid overhead watering tall doubles—water weight breaks stems.

Hanging Basket Recipe

Signet 'Paprika' (bicolored) + orange-red Lantana 'Radiation' + parrot's beak (Lotus berthelotii) in a 13" terra-cotta pot with metal hangers.

Nursery Shopper's Guide

Three main types sold in sixpacks/4-inch pots spring–early summer. Buy plants loaded with unopened buds. Seed sources: Nichols Garden Nursery, Seeds of Change. Sow direct when soil hits 70°F.

Marigolds: easy, useful, and unexpectedly sophisticated.