Nasturtiums are flowers planted usually for their role in attracting pollinators, as well as trapping unwanted pests away from your valuable garden grows.

Planting nasturtiums is a good idea if you want to keep pesky pests away and draw in friendly pollinators.

Grow this plant as a companion to your in-ground vegetables to help keep pests away, keeping the rest of your garden healthy and happy.

Types of nasturtium

nasturtiums

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There exist both trailing and bush varieties of nasturtium. You can grow bush types if you have a particularly smaller garden space. 

Plant trailing varieties in the ground to get the benefits of repelling garden pests. And you can also plant this variety indoors, as they tend to present a beautiful display with their trailing vines and gorgeous flowers. If you are growing these flowers indoors, consider hanging them so as to show off their climbing vines. 

Bush varieties are ideal for small gardens. These are more compact and do not grow as wildly as trailing varieties. Whichever your pick, the secret to growing nasturtium is in their edibility. You can use the flowers as garnish for your summer salads, with their peppery flavour similar to that of radishes. 

Nasturtiums have a lot to offer to your garden and your dinner table, and you may want to grow nasturtiums for their flavour. 

Tips for growing nasturtiums

You can grow these among pumpkin, cabbage, beans and broccoli.

  1. Nasturtiums have fragile roots and therefore need to be directly sown into the ground or in pots.
    2. These flowers require full sun to grow well and produce beautiful blooms.
    3. Preferring well-draining soil, take care not to overwater these blooms.

Also see: What is foodscaping? The best plants for an edible landscape

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