I think that the Nasturtium is a lovely plant and right at this moment it’s filling a gap in my July garden!  I always walk around the garden pots during May/ June and poke Nasturtium seeds into as many as I can, knowing that they will never let me down and will offer that extra colour during late July, August and even September.

Of course, Nasturtiums are really easy to grow and therefore they are probably a child’s favourite; the seeds are big enough for little hands to deal with, the seeds germinate quickly, the colours delight and the flowers are even edible. They certainly brighten the breakfast table!

Nasturtiums offer such a wide range of colours and not all of the plants are trailing. As well as this, they also offer variegated leaves. The variegated Nasturtium leaves are botanically classified as Tropaeolum majus. These are considered heirloom cultivars and popular varieties include Alaska and Troika. I just love the fact that there are so many varieties from which to choose…

Now to finish off, here’s some interesting info!

Did you know that the scientific name, ‘Tropaeolum’ was given by Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist, naturalist, zoologist, scientist, professor..and indeed he had various strings to his bow!

The Latin word for Tropaeolum is ‘trophy’ and Linnaeus decided on this name as he thought that the ‘trophy like’ flowers and the flat leaves reminded him of helmets and shields. It was actually traditional in the 1800s that helmets and shields were hung on trees after a victorious army came home from battle.

The English word for Tropaeolum, ‘Nasturtium’, came from the Latin words ‘nasus’ (nose) and ‘torque o’  (twist) and this originated from the reaction of people when they tasted the peppery, bittersweet taste of the plant.