About the Photo

I’ve grown nasturtiums in my back yard for years. The small hybrid ones, with names like Alaska and Burgundy, don’t do very well for me. Their leaves are minuscule and I get maybe one bloom a summer. But, oh! the climbing ones!

I just stick the seeds in the ground and walk away. They have nothing to climb on, so they remain an untidy clump on the ground. Long snaky arms looking for something vertical would probably get to be ten feet long if I would let them.

For several years I have had a mix of red and yellow flowers. They self-seed joyously. Each blossom, if not picked, sets three large seeds, so I have more than enough for the next year. Occasionally the plants die off during the winter but there are always too many new plants the next spring.

Nasturtiums are cheerful, of course, but their main attraction is culinary. They taste like watercress or a mild radish and are great in salads. They are also used for decoration in fancy restaurants but I don’t fool around with that since I cook only for myself.

There is a little spur at the back of the flower that is filled with nectar. I think that small bugs crawl into it, cross-pollinating as they march through the flower itself. And every time I pick them this summer, there is a small bee that flows me around. We don’t bother each other and I am sure he thinks I know the best blossoms and uses me as a guide. Another new talent!