Planting flowers and vegetables together

may not be such a bad idea (I have been doing this) says Buzzing bees protect plant leaves :
"In tents with bees flying over plants without fruit, caterpillars did less damage to leaves than in quiet tents, the researchers report.
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Whatever the history, it makes a good example of hard-to-spot indirect relationships between species in ecosystems, Tautz says.

Also, he says he can imagine that gardeners might someday take advantage of this effect. “Alternating rows of vegetables and flowers not only look beautiful, they may reduce the use of pesticides,” he says."