The Song of the Nasturtium Fairy

Up fences he scrambles,

Sing hey, sing hey!

All summer he rambles

So gay, so gay

Till the night frost strikes chilly,

And Autumn leaves fall,

And he's gone, willy nilly,

Umbrellla and all."

Words & illustration by Cicely Mary Barker, from The Complete Book of Flower Fairies. PREORDER now.

I've always loved Fairies and Cicely Mary Barkers illustrations definitely inspired me when I was young.

Nasturtiums are lovely not just because they bring such glorious splashes of orange, yellow and red into the garden, but because they are one of those useful, edible & medicinal plants which are so easy to grow.

The leaves, flowers and immature seed pods of garden nasturtium are all edible. The leaves and flowers have a delicious peppery, watercress like flavour, and the young green seed pods can be pickled and used just like capers.

And there is some fascinating history to tell.

Nasturtiums are native to South and Central America, rather than being an old European cottage garden flower as we might imagine. Related Tropaeolum species have long been used by Andean peoples for food and traditional purposes.

Even the name has a story. Nasturtium comes from the Latin nasus tortus, meaning “twisted nose”, a reference to the sharp, pungent taste of the plant.

Its botanical name, Tropaeolum, has an equally curious origin. Linnaeus named it after the Greek word for a trophy, because the round leaves reminded him of shields and the flowers of military trophies.

So perhaps Barker’s jolly little fairy had the right idea. A plant with leaves like umbrellas and shields, brilliant flame coloured flowers, a peppery bite and a tendency to scramble exuberantly over fences.

Beautiful, edible, useful and just a little bit cheeky.

Nasturtium season is here, and I'm enjoying seeing the various colours of Nasturtiums popping up in my garden. Years ago I planted seeds to many variegated colours.

Learn about Nasturtium in my Hot Season Foraging Guide.

p.s. The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker. PRE-ORDER NOW for delivery in early November