Apart from providing wonderful colour in a small garden, nasturtiums are the gardener’s favourite for encouraging beneficial insects into the garden.
Originally from South America, nasturtiums have a culinary and medical history. The leaves and flowers are edible with a tangy taste similar to pepper. Used in salads and soups they add colour and flavour to many dishes.
Nasturtiums come in two forms, bush and trailing. The trailing form climb well among beans and tomatoes providing colour and drawing in beneficial insects. Both forms grow well in shade and full sun and grow well until the first frost.
There is evidence nasturtiums discourage slugs and snails. This is a good reason to include them in an integrated pest management plan for a garden.
(wikipedia.org)