Gardeners Tips

Can lemon be an intense colour? In the right light these nasturtium flowers were an intense joy to behold.
I like the idea of self colour or just one variety grouped together. The strong colours that you find in a mixture of Nasturtium seeds can create plants that detract from one-another.

Time of day and temperature of the light may affect how we see colour but this red Nasturtium was a head turner and day of the week.

Looking decidedly rougher was this large array of wild Nasturtiums growing on rocky scree in Madiera. Ideal conditions of sun and low nitrogen soil provided this ideal habitat. The leaves were going over but the flower pattern would be repeated over several months starting in January!
Not so early in the UK I am afraid, Nasturtiums show off to best advantage much later in our summers.

Grow Up or Down a Wall

I grow mixed nasturtiums in the top of a wall. They trail down but can be encouraged to grow up twiggy supports to cover unsightly areas although they tend to trail even if planted on the flat.
Thompson Morgan Buying seed is the easiest way to start Nasturtiums. I like the dark leaved varieties such as Cobra, Strawberry Ice and Princess of India.
A variety you can plant in a hanging basket is called Jewel Mixed which adds fragrance to the dwarf trailing habit.

Gardeners Tips for Nasturtiums (Tropaeolium) more

• Plant in poor soil for more flowers than leaf. Nasturtiums will put on a lot of leaf if the soil is too rich
• The leaves, buds, flowers and seed can be eaten. The peppery taste adds good flavour to a salad.
• If left Nasturtium seed profusely and return year after year. Allegedly perennials I prefer the self sown and new seed each year.
• Seeds are large and can be planted individually by children.
• The dwarf nasturtiums are better behaved and will flower well without any fertilizer.
• Handle the stems with care as they are brittle and easily snapped.
• Nasturtiums are no use as cut flowers but you can pick and eat flowers and leaves.
• Collect the fallen seed for next year. You get 3 big seeds per flower.
• Plants are loved by black fly that may colonise the underside of leaves. Wash off with soapy water or use an insecticide if you are not going to eat them.
• Try Indian chief with dark leaves or the newer double Tropaeolum majus.
• You can often obtain seeds or plants from our mail order company of choice Thompson & Morgan

Read Help Growing Nasturtiums

Knowing where your plants grow naturally can give you many clues to growing in your garden. Woodland plants are likely to do best in shade, streamside plants will like moist soil and mountain plants are likely to be deep rooted and hardy.

On the dry south side of a mountain you may find plants that can live in poor soil with very little water. They may be evergreen, with leathery leaves and very deep roots or have sharp thorns. This photo has regular mist to irrigate the very short rhododendrons that grow like weeds.

Some mountain plants only seem to live in these conditions because stronger plants eliminate them from elsewhere. Some mountain plants are relatively frost-sensitive and can only survive where snow builds up in winter to insulate them from the hardest frosts.

Moss, grass, heath and heather can often thrive above the tree line on mountain slopes. Many small but beautiful alpines grow on the mountains as the name implies.

Colorado State University has a list of mountain plants to grow above 8,000 feet – Mmmm a bit higher than my garden then. It is interesting that so many of our successful garden plants come from high altitudes such as the Himalayas and the Alps.

Aster ‘Composition’

Michaelmas Daisies are hardy perennials flowering late in the summer in a range of bright colours. Aster novi-belgi and Aster novae-angliae are both called Michaelmas Daisies and mixed together make a contrasting rich colour range of long stemmed autumnal flowers suitable for cutting.

Growing Instructions

• Germinate seeds between February and July at 68-86F on the surface of a good free draining, damp seed compost.
• Do not cover seed. Do not exclude light at any stage, as this helps germination.
• Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag until after germination which usually takes 21-100 days.
• Transplant seedlings when large enough to handle into trays or 3in pots. Grow on in cooler, well lit conditions before planting out 12″ apart after all risk of frost has gone.
• Clumps of Michaelmas Daisies will develop over the years and can be split to increase the best plants.

Other sources
Michaelmas Asters 29th September
Michaelmas Daisies and Plants from Childhood
Seeds from Thompson & Morgan

The name Aster comes from the Ancient Greek word meaning “star” referring to the daisy like shape of the flower head. They are in the family Asteraceae part of the Daisy clan. There are 500+ species of Aster and many variety of hybrids that are popular as garden plants because of their attractive and colourful flowers.

The Pansy face that launched a thousand pot plants.

Pansy partners pair up on this plants.

It is the face on a pansy that gives it a differentiation from a viola (and Pansies can’t make music like some violas).

‘Squaring up for a fight’. Is this Pansy one of your favourites? If so vote on the comments section below.

Whiskers rather than a full face put this more in the Viola class but I am a bit of a Joker and so is this flower.

More Sources

Pictures from the Viola Group on Flickr called Violetta Amore Mio ‘Violet my love’
Grow Your Own Cheap Violas from GTips
Growing Pansy All Year Around GTips
Google Pansy images
Seeds and plants from Thompson & Morgan
Violas on the first image courtesy of Toshio