This year, I fell in love with marigolds. I have planted them in years past, but they have never done very well. This year I kept dead-heading any flowers that didn't look so happy and well, the results have been amazing!
Not only are they gorgeous, but I have fallen in love with their fragrance. The colorful flowers are thought to lift the spirits and encourage cheerfulness.
The dried flowers also have amazing medicinal properties. They can be used as anti-inflammatory, to relieve muscle spasms, as an astringent, to prevent hemorrhaging, to heal wounds, as an antiseptic, to detoxify and as a mild estrogenic. I have been saving my dead-headed marigolds to make a cream for cuts and scrapes.
Bugs are not attracted to marigolds, in fact, they act as a repellent. I was hoping the marigolds would act as a deterrent for hungry grasshoppers gnawing on my ornamental grasses, but not so in this pot. Of course, they didn't bother the marigolds themselves. Next year I'm going to try planting marigolds all around the borders of my garden area to keep out pests.
I planted them this year because I got a flat on sale at a great price. What I discovered was a treasure- added joy to a meaningful life.
"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever."
Isaiah 40:8
