| Call this salt and pepper: peppery-tasting nasturtiums in one of our grandmother’s saltware jugs |
It’s feeling kinda frosty outside, but some plants are still chugging along – even those fleshy ones you’d think would be susceptible to chilling. Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) for one. They’re the biggest-bang-for-buck annuals in my garden, and I always have room for them. Although sometimes they’ve show a perverse singlemindedness about the colour orange. Instantly forgiven.
What’s growin’ on in your garden this October?
8 comments
I love Nasturtiums! I planted some climbing ones but I think my crew thought they were weeds becasue they were doing fine and then they were gone : ) Yours are lovely!
Laurin, in my tiny garden the climbers tend to take over like Giverny on a microscale. This year, I planted a couple of packs I'd received as gifts and they tended to be climbers. Next year, I might try being a bit more selective. But with great foliage, abundant flowers, and both being edible, including the pods, I'll always have room for nastutiums, no matter how much they trail about.
I still have a few clematis blooms and my Japanese anemones are going strong as is blanket flower. Love that it's mid-October and I'm still getting so much enjoyment from flowers and foliage.
Oh, Japanese anemones are such wonderful plants, but I haven't had success with them. Blanket flower is one of those strong performers that bloom themselves out after 2-3 years — at least in my garden. Do you find that in yours?
A star performer in the garden right now is my Katsura tree, the fall foliage and its scent is very yummy! The Japanese maples are impatiently waiting to show off, lol…
Katsura trees can be pretty impressive at this time of year. In fact, a post we wrote on katsura fall colour is consistently one of the most popular on our blog. And it's hard to beat the colour of Japanese maples for intensity.
I love having Nasturtiums cascading around my raised vegetable beds. My organic farm is in the Cascades foothills east of Seattle. I'm still waiting for my Burning Bushes to start "burning!"
I used to plant nasturtiums until I had a woodchuck living in my garden for several years who adored them. One day, I would have masses of wonderful, colorful blooms: and the next day, I would step out the door, stare at this big empty space in the garden, and wonder "what is missing here?" That particular woodchuck moved on to woodchuck heaven several years ago, so maybe I should start planting nasturtiums again. -Jean