Nasturtiums are a gardener’s dream. They are virtually carefree once established. I was introduced to this beauty by my friend Nancy. The summer of 2007, while a summer of grief over the loss of my sister Leslie to suicide, was also a summer of discovery love of this cheerful plant. If you are in grief, there will be new joys that come along. The garden reminds me of this truth and gives me hope.
The funniest thing about the nasturtium is that it likes old soil. It doesn’t do well in soil that has been amended with lots of nutrients and fertilizers. Best thing to do is to use soil that you’ve had in another pot for years and stick some seeds in that. Yes, seeds. I wouldn’t recommend transplanting nasturtiums. Instead I recommend getting your pots filled with other annuals flowers and your beds all planted and then go around and stick nasturtium seeds in empty spots.
I like to edge my borders with nasturtiums. I also like to plant nasturtiums around pieces of wood and decorative rock. The flower is so delicate and yet they have a showy, often intensely bright color. This makes macrophotography quite challenging (as you can see in my photos).
But for me? I mostly like nasturtiums for its leaves. They bounce. Yes, you read that right. They bounce. The way they sway in the wind makes them seem happy. And even on the hardest of days I can go outside and laugh WITH these flowers and regain a bit of hope.
NASTURTIUMS are known as a companion plant. This is why I love that my friend Nancy is the one who introduced me to them. Companion planting in agriculture is planting of different crops in close proximity because it is thought that certain plants together benefit one another. This means naturtiums benefit the other plants that are around them by helping to ward off pests.
Most don’t know that the entire plant is edible. They have a peppery taste and make a great addition to salads. But I can’t bring myself to plucking them out of my garden to make things like nasturtium butter or nasturtium mayonnaise.
In the spring buy a lot of these seeds. Get several varieties. Stick them in pots with other flowers and all over your backyard. You won’t regret it.
These are in a hanging pot. I wish I had a pulled back photo so you can see. Some varieties grow as long as 18-24 inches draping nicely over a pots edge.
I often stick seeds in all kind of pots. These nasturtiums are growing so well you can hardly see the cordyline I paired it with.
These I planted in the ground, along the rock border. They will grow even bigger than what is shown here. I took this photo in mid June.
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