The full branching form and aromatic forest green foliage of marigolds make them great backdrops for early summer bloomers. As the weather starts to cool at night in mid-summer, they come into their own, and every branch seems tipped with flowers of mahogany red and glinting gold. They are useful in borders, along garden edges, and in veggie gardens, for they naturally repel insect pests. The flowers are good cut, as long as you appreciate their earthily-scented leaves. Deadhead for continued bloom until frost.