If you look around at some of the flowering plants growing in gardens and parks, you probably can’t miss the abundance of colour from pretty nasturtiums which are starting to come into flower now.
These flowers are very easy to grow from seed. However, if you find that you have little success at growing plants from seed you can always buy them as bedding plants from nurseries and garden centres.
Seeds need to be sown indoors in late March or April and they need to be planted out in a sunny spot in the garden once the threat of frosts has passed at the end of May. You do not need to add fertiliser to the soil as nasturtiums thrive better in poor soil. Make sure you water regularly, especially during dry spells but be careful not to over-water. If you dead-head any faded or dead flowers then you will prolong the flowering time and encourage more flowers to bloom.
The leaves and flowers of the nasturtium are edible and can be added to salads. If you are keen to encourage wildlife in your garden, nasturtiums are a good plant to attract butterflies as the leaves are particularly tasty for the caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly and keen vegetable growers often plant these flowers as a distraction from the vegetables which they are trying to cultivate in their gardens.
At the end of the flowering season, allow the seeds to dry off on the vine, then collect them and store them over the Winter in a paper bag and then you are ready to sow again next Spring.
