Plant of the month - Nasturtiums

Easy to grow from seed, Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum Majus) are versatile and really useful in different ways in the garden. They’re happy climbing up and over things or spilling over the side of hanging baskets or containers.  They’re fast growers too.  They can be trained to grow up a fence and/or mixed in with plants such as runner beans to add colour.

Spanish botanist Nicolas Monardes brought these annuals back from the New World (now known as Colombia and Bolivia) to Spain during the 16th century.  Once there, the wonderful scent of their blooms was noted as ‘indescribable’ which is how the plant became known as Nasturtium, which literally means ‘nose twister’.

There are many different varieties, forms and colours.  Since they were first cultivated, they have been used as medicine, herbs, vegetables, flowers and apparently even fruit.  All parts of the plant are edible and rich in Vitamin C, and in years gone by they were eaten to prevent scurvy. The flowers, with their spicy scent, were very popular during Victorian times and used to cover up nasty smells and body odour.  In the Victorian ‘language of flowers’ nasturtiums were said to symbolise patriotism.

Colours vary from pale lemon, eg, Tropaeolum Night & Day Mixed; soft apricot, eg T. ‘Alaska Apricot’; bright orange, eg, T. ‘Salmon Mousse’; light yellow splashed with dark orange, eg, T. ‘Orchid Cream’ and deep, rich almost burgundy, eg, T. ‘Crimson Emperor’.  Even the leaves are varied – some are pale green, some darker green & some variegated.  The most vigorous are marketed as ‘climbing’ such as T. Climbing Mixed.  Others are described as ‘trailing’, eg, T. ‘Troika Yellow’ and these are the ones that are best in hanging baskets.  In late May it is still not too late to direct sow a basket or other container with these.  

Having brightly coloured flowers, they attract pollinators to neighbouring crops and are renowned companion plants, either repelling insects or acting as ‘sacrifices’, attracting pests from other plants.  They bloom throughout the summer but may slow down if allowed to produce seed, so don’t forget to deadhead.  Generally they do not attract too many pests; blackfly are the only real threat to them.