Do you grow Nasturtiums?  Do your grow them on purpose? Do you eat them, give them to your birds, or just like the wildlife they bring to the garden?

I first add Nasturtiums to the garden a few years ago after collecting seeds while out walking.  After throwing them in I had to wait another 9 months for their season to come back around (late Autumn/Winter) and we had orange and red ones.  Since then I have collected seeds whenever I can.  To date I have 6 colours, with a couple of varieties (as far as I can tell).  There is the classic orange which has the long vines that go wild.  This one usually grows around the chook pen but didn’t this year.   I’m not sure why, wondering if the weather was too warm for too long?  This year a new orange popped up, a darker orange, a really lovely colour, it is a short little bushy plant.  Another new one, a mix between yellow and orange, in a stripey sort of petal has grown.  And, the one I have been waiting for for years (I grabbed some seeds 2 seasons ago) is the yellow! There is also the dark red and the rusty orange.  This year the apricot coloured one hasn’t grown.

I really love the light scent of the flowers and keep them on my desk.