I plant Nasturtiums every year. I love the bright flowers and their distinctive smell – a spicy sort of peppery scent. Their leaves are attractive too. Nasturtiums sprawl and climb and are brilliant for ground cover and filling gaps.
Some people loathe them I know that.
They say that nasturtiums attract the wrong sort of butterflies which leads to masses of caterpillars and chewed up plants. But that’s precisely why I plant them.
I think that all butterflies are worth inviting into the garden. Sowing several packets of Nasturtium seed gives me lots of plants to use around the garden. I plant them in my veg and herb beds and I plant them in containers so they are portable too.
Here in my garden Nasturtiums are offered to our butterflies as a sacrifice. The way I see it is that they can have my Nasturtiums if they leave my crops alone. So far my strategy has worked. Most of the edible plants in the garden are looking lovely. They have lush whole leaves perfect for us to eat. The butterflies have gone for the Nasturtiums instead.
Butterflies and caterpillars are quite fascinating to watch.
The butterflies lay a cluster of tiny eggs on the back of one leaf. When the caterpillars hatch they eat that leaf then set off in procession to find another one. Soon parts of your Nasturtium plants will look like this…
But some of your plants will survive giving you beautiful blooms and lush foliage and interesting seed pods.
BONUS POINTS:
- Nasturtium seeds are large and the seedlings develop quickly making these ideal plants for children to sow and grow.
- In your greenhouse Nasturtiums will attract White Fly leaving your Tomatoes and Cucumber plants pest free.
- You can eat the peppery Nasturtium leaves, flowers and seed pods in a salad.
I hope that you enjoyed this post about Tropaeolum majus commonly known as Nasturtiums.
You may also like Flowers in the Veg Plot.
I appreciate your comments and I will try to answer all your questions. Thanks for visiting.
Happy gardening. Gillian 🙂
Do you grow Nasturtiums in your garden?