TikTok user Jessica (@fromdreamtoseed) shared her winning flower for creating a pollinator haven. With a name fitting for a star, the dwarf cosmos plant has won Jessica’s heart.
The scoop
Dwarf cosmos are low-growing flowers that make a great addition to any garden based on their aesthetics alone.
@fromdreamtoseed Dwarf Cosmos make an excellent companion plant for a vegetable garden. They attract beneficial insects, are low growing, and will often produce several crops in one season. What’s your favorite companion plant? #companionplanting #flowers #cosmosflower #gardentips ♬ Beautiful Nature – Steven Solveig
They easily attract pollinators and add bold orange hues to the garden. However, Jessica states how they “reseed themselves, so I get two blooms in one season,” as her top reason for making them “my favorite.”
She uses these beauties as part of a companion planting system, an ancient technique of pairing different crops together based on how they complement each other.
How it’s helping
Companion planting is an easy way to maximize garden space and yield through strategic plant placement. For example, tall plants such as corn provide climbing stalks for beans while squash shades the ground and suppresses weeds in a “Three Sisters” pairing.
Smaller plants, such as flowers or garlic, can fill in the gaps between the main crop while protecting it from bugs and weeds. For example, dwarf cosmos plants not only attract friendly bugs that provide free sowing, but also the lacewings, parasitic mini-wasps, and hoverflies that prey on destructive pests. Thus, you can protect your food long enough to make it to your kitchen without using chemicals.
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Attracting pollinators easily increases biodiversity as they exchange pollen between plants. This pollinator work can increase yield without additional work by the gardener. According to the U.S National Science Foundation, bees increase the production of about 75% of the planet’s crop species. Plus, growing plants like the dwarf cosmos that have reseeding ability means constant replanting isn’t necessary.
Having plant diversity also helps the soil thanks to the various nutrients and different root systems they create. Taproot plants, such as carrots, reduce compacted soil; planting beans adds nitrogen.
As these companion plants thrive through symbiotic relationships, you can enjoy the literal fruit (and veggies) of your labor on your plate without stressing over budget or pesticides.
Growing your own food provides food security by reducing reliance on an often fluctuating food chain affected by tariffs, weather events, and remote locations. For example, 2018’s Hurricane Michael created over $1.5 billion in agricultural losses in Florida, according to The Robin Report.
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What everyone’s saying
“I never have to reseed cosmos, zinnias, calendula, or marigolds. I still save the seeds though lol,” one gardening commenter said.
Jessica’s video may have inspired someone with a different cosmos flower to switch over — they said: “[I] planted cupcake white cosmos this year. They are huge…I want to pull them, but bumblebees love them. For sure, [I’ll be] doing dwarf next year.”
In the comments, Jessica also advised those looking for fall flowers to plant dwarf cosmos, dwarf sunflowers, zinnias, alyssum, mums, and sedum.
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