The meek shall inherit the vase

Digging up gladiolus corms wasn’t the only thing I ran around doing before the recent cold snap. All the tender annuals were cut off at the ankles, and brought indoors by the armload, just in case. Just in case I wanted to root some cuttings (like coleus or purple tradescantia) – or try Gayla Trail’s cool recipe to turn nasturtium leaves into pesto.

Well, I got distracted.

It was a week before the armload received any attention. By then, the nasturtium leaves looked seriously crispy.

But, lo and behold, the stems held blooms! After all that neglect, without water or light, and dumped haphazardly in a box in my front hall, they were giving one last kick at the can, trying their darnedest to reproduce. Such determined oomph deserved respect, and display.

“Live long and prosper,” says the pin art – and the small but stalwart bunch of nasturtiums complies.

After pulling everything out of the box, I cut those few steadfast blooms for one of my tiniest vintage jugs. And, in the bottom of the box, were a few more small treasures.

Seeds from a grab-bag of nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) cultivars, to save for next year.

Here’s something I’ve learned from visiting Cathy and friends on Rambling in the Garden for In a Vase on Monday (do go visit for more inspiration). The container can be as important as the flowers. So, forgive my redundancy, here’s a better look at my wee vase. Happy Monday!

I have a thing for vintage transferware with botanical motifs.

10 comments

  1. What a resilient plant nasturtiums are – who would have thought it? And just how attractive is taht handful of varied seeds? Gorgeous! Nature is so clever, is she not? Thanks for sharing, Helen

  2. Helen, that’s amazing how well your nasturtiums have done. Lovely. I’ve never been able to get them to grow, so now I’ve got to try again.

    1. Susie, they grow well for me given enough sunlight. In my dry shade front garden, they’re generally a washout. This year, I used more in my containers, and they all thrived, looking very attractive in both leaf and flower spilling over the edges.

  3. that’s a really cute vase with the nasturtiums – I’ve always struggled to get them to stay in a vase, think I’ll try some different varieties. thanks for the reminder to plant some more next year. Love bec xx

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