Nasturtiums or ‘Nose-Twisters’?

One of my favorite plants in my garden is Nasturtium.

I love their bright flowers.

Did you know that the name ‘Nasturtium’ literally means ‘nose-twister’?

It’s true.

Nasturtium comes from the Latin words ‘nasus’ for nose and ‘tortum’ meaning twist referring to the mustard oil in the leaves.

If you haven’t grown Nasturtiums before here are some reasons that you should:

– The entire plant is edible.  The leaves and flowers are often used in salads.  The leaves have a ‘peppery’ taste.

– They have large seeds, are easy to grow and are the perfect plant for kids to try growing.

– Nasturtiums are great in the vegetable garden.  They help to keep damaging insects away from your vegetables.

– Available in different colors and forms – climbing, dwarf, trailing and traditional forms.  Nasturtiums can grow up a trellis, drape over a container or the dwarf variety can be used as a bedding plant.

Plant Nasturtiums directly in the ground, in full sun, once the danger of frost is past.  They do best in non-fertile soil.  In my fertile vegetable garden soil, I get more leaves then flowers but that is okay as long as they help to repel damaging insects.

In hot summer areas, like mine, they will die off.  But, I simply let them go to seed and they often grow back in the fall.

You cannot find a better annual for your garden…..beautiful flowers and leaves, easy to grow, helps vegetables, edible AND it’s cheap!

So for a couple of dollars for a packet of seeds, you can soon be enjoying the benefits of Nasturtiums.

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."