The plant that will brighten any garden — and is edible too

Times

5 hours ago

Nasturtiums are one of those plants that we take for granted. We depend on them to brighten up a so-so corner, and they do. We want them to be forever cheerful and they are. They are the go-to choice for companion planting, such is their appeal to pests. Kids love them too. They do all these jobs without complaint, an everyman (and woman) plant, but one that is very rarely the star of the show.
We can change that, though. They are certainly one of the stars of the exhibition Cecil Beaton's Garden Party at the Garden Museum in London. This is a celebration of Beaton's lifelong love of flowers and, right smack in the middle of it, is a painting by him of his garden in 1960. It is entitled Cutting Garden Flowers and is dominated by nasturtiums and morning glories. Neither are traditional cut flowers, but Beaton and his collaborator Constance Spry loved them for their colours and used them often in their spectacular arrangements.
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The painting, purchased by the museum a few years ago, was one of the inspirations for the show itself, as well as its Cook with the Seasons programme which, this summer, features nasturtiums. Ceri Jones is a chef and the creator of the course. While I have often used nasturtium flowers in salads, her sample menu is far more impressive. There are nasturtiums with glazed beetroot and whipped ricotta and a salad with tomato and olive. There is also a nasturtium leaf pesto pasta salad. Finally, there is pressed flower shortbread. Nasturtiums don't seem quite so humdrum now, do they?
'You can eat all parts of the plant — leaves, flowers, pods,' Jones says. She compares the peppery taste to watercress. 'There is no bitterness. The flowers are almost sweet.' You can use the flowers and leaves, picked, in salads and as garnish. The small round seedpods can be transformed (when young and semi-ripe) into what is called a poor man's caper.
You'd think that with all that going for it (as well as being high in vitamin C), nasturtiums would be grown as a crop, like rocket or cress. The reason they aren't, Jones thinks, is that they attract so many pests. Of course, veg gardeners love them for this very trait. Nasties, as I sometimes call them, though the name doesn't fit at all, attract all kinds of aphids (including blackfly, greenfly and whitefly), flea beetles and cabbage white butterflies. They can be planted as a 'trap crop' to lure them from others. As a bonus, 'good' insects such as ladybugs and hoverflies love them.
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Jones also loves them because she can grow them on her small (3m x 1m) fifth-floor balcony, which is northeast facing. Forage on the balcony? Yes, please. In addition to being tasty, they also brighten up one of her balcony corners with their orange and red flowers and rounded leaves. Another plus is that these plants aren't too fussed about what soil they grow in and are well suited to containers.
Nasturtiums, native to South America, are usually annuals and known for being enthusiastic self-seeders. The most popular types are climbers (Tropaeolum majus) and bush or dwarf (T. minus). Colours include creams, oranges, reds, variegated and burgundies. The RHS notes that there are also some fancier ones, including a few perennials, as well as unusual colours such as sky blue (T. azureum).
But back to the kitchen, where Jones is whipping up some nasturtium pesto. 'They turn every dish into a work of art,' she says. Stardom, at last.
Ingredients
• 50g pine nuts• 1 large handful of nasturtium leaves, approx 50g• 1 plump garlic clove, finely chopped• 120-150ml extra virgin olive oil• Zest and juice of 1 lemon• Sea salt
Method
1. Toast the nuts in a dry hot frying pan until lightly browned all over. Transfer to a food processor with the garlic and blitz briefly until roughly broken down. Add the washed nasturtium leaves and blitz again briefly, then with the motor still running pour in 120ml olive oil and blend till the leaves have all broken down.
2. Add the lemon zest, juice and a big pinch of salt and blitz again to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a touch more oil if necessary
Serving suggestion On bread with a generous layer of ricotta, topped with a slice or two of tomato and the pesto drizzled over. Garnish with a washed nasturtium flower.