Grow Nasturtium for the Vegetable Garden 🌸 If I could only grow one flower for my vegetable garden it would probably be nasturtium as they are just so versatile… All parts of the plant are edible and have quite a peppery flavour, the leaves and flowers are great in salads and the seed pods can also be pickled much like a caper! 😋 They attract beneficial insects into the garden, but are also loved by many common garden pest such as green and black fly and cabbage whites. 🌸🌱🐛 So, I use them as sacrificial crops, creating barriers that draw pests away from other susceptible crops such as brassicas, but as nasturtiums are so vigorous they can generally outgrow the onslaught. They are easy to grow too, just pop a seed into a pot, water well and they’ll germinate in no time. But they do require a well draining seed mix. 😊👍🏻 There are so many colours and varieties to choose from and ‘purple emperor’ is a variety I grow every year as they seem to be hardier and bloom longer than the rest. 🌸 The cascading plants are a great feature hanging over the side of a raised bed, or at the front of the terraced garden. They reseed really easily though, so only choose locations where you don’t mind them coming back each year, but for me that is one of their advantages as it means you’ll only have to grow them from seed once. And you can find more about the power of garden flowers in my new book Have you grow nasturtium before? If not why not give them a go this year! 😊🌸 #growyourown #nasturtium #gardeningtips #flowergarden #companionplanting - @nettlesandpetals