Tropaeolum is the Latin name for that almost weedy, but seriously colourful plant called Nasturtium

Most gardeners know them, many grow them (in frost-free locations), some eat them and others find them a bit of a pain in the bottom due to their rampant growth.

The famous painter Monet was a huge fan too!

They hail from Central and Southern America; flower colours are bright in the red, orange and yellow spectra (plus a heap of other bred, fancy hues) and I reckon they literally brighten any garden with that blast of colours;

They are easy to grow in almost any type of soil (especially the poorer soils), don’t really like rich soil with lots of fertilisers and their best attribute is the ability to give a huge dash of colour in the most boring part of your garden; Tropaeolum makes you smile – you simply can’t help it!

Remember that frosts can kill them, but seeing they are actually annuals, their seeds will give you a brand new crop every spring.

A really interesting did-you-know is that Nasturtium is an alternative host for the white cabbage butterfly caterpillar, despite the fact that Nasturtiums are not a Brassica, nor are they closely related to the cabbage family.

So if you don’t want white butterfly caterpillars in your cabbages, broccoli, caulis and sprouts, don’t grow Nasturtium near your cabbage patch!

You can eat the leaves, the seeds and the flowers – taste is described as “peppery” or resembling “honey-mustard”

The flowers can be eaten or used in fancy cookery recipes, stuffed with cream cheese or topped on vinaigrette-laced salad, but remember that the flowers tend to wilt quite quickly, so chuck them on that salad at the last moment before serving.

Even washing the flowers makes them “flaccid”, so keep them au naturel and consume them raw… without washing!

And that last bit of info might sound weird, but makes perfect scientific sense.

If you look at the plant after a shower of rain, you’ll find that the leaves actually hold the raindrops on the surface in perfect little bubbles of “quick-silver”.

We have a scientific term for that: the leaf surface is Hydrophobic; it repels water. There are a few plants that show this hydrophobic feature: Lotus, some types of water lilies, and indeed: cabbages!

If you look further into the natural world you may find that the wings of flies (crane flies!) and heaps of other insects have a similar repellency of water droplets.

For nasturtium and Lotus, etc, this repellency is caused by a nano-structure on the leaf surface. It literally forces the droplets of water to become slippery objects on the leaf that removes dirt from the surface and tosses it all off the leaves when the droplets become too large.

In other words: due to those nano-structures, those leaves become self-cleaning surfaces! All you need is a bit of water to clean it on a regular basis.

Now, wouldn’t it be a clever idea to – somehow – put that nano structure on the glass of your shower door?

Guess what: that system exists already. Not just on glass but also on floor tiles, roof tiles, on concrete and on paint.

Biomimicry! It’s how we learn from Nature and design according to ancient natural processes!

Tropaeolum is the Latin name for that almost weedy, but seriously colourful plant called Nasturtium
Most gardeners know them, many grow them (in frost-free locations), some eat them and others find them a bit of a pain in the bottom due to their rampant growth.
The famous painter Monet was a huge fan too!
They hail from Central and Southern America; flower colours are bright in the red, orange and yellow spectra (plus a heap of other bred, fancy hues) and I reckon they literally brighten any garden with that blast of colours;
They are easy to grow in almost any type of soil (especially the poorer soils), don’t really like rich soil with lots of fertilisers and their best attribute is the ability to give a huge dash of colour in the most boring part of your garden; Tropaeolum makes you smile – you simply can’t help it!
Remember that frosts can kill them, but seeing they are actually annuals, their seeds will give you a brand new crop every spring.
A really interesting did-you-know is that Nasturtium is an alternative host for the white cabbage butterfly caterpillar, despite the fact that Nasturtiums are not a Brassica, nor are they closely related to the cabbage family.
So if you don’t want white butterfly caterpillars in your cabbages, broccoli, caulis and sprouts, don’t grow Nasturtium near your cabbage patch!
You can eat the leaves, the seeds and the flowers – taste is described as “peppery” or resembling “honey-mustard”
The flowers can be eaten or used in fancy cookery recipes, stuffed with cream cheese or topped on vinaigrette-laced salad, but remember that the flowers tend to wilt quite quickly, so chuck them on that salad at the last moment before serving.
Even washing the flowers makes them “flaccid”, so keep them au naturel and consume them raw… without washing!
And that last bit of info might sound weird, but makes perfect scientific sense.
If you look at the plant after a shower of rain, you’ll find that the leaves actually hold the raindrops on the surface in perfect little bubbles of “quick-silver”.
We have a scientific term for that: the leaf surface is Hydrophobic; it repels water. There are a few plants that show this hydrophobic feature: Lotus, some types of water lilies, and indeed: cabbages!
If you look further into the natural world you may find that the wings of flies (crane flies!) and heaps of other insects have a similar repellency of water droplets.
For nasturtium and Lotus, etc, this repellency is caused by a nano-structure on the leaf surface. It literally forces the droplets of water to become slippery objects on the leaf that removes dirt from the surface and tosses it all off the leaves when the droplets become too large.
In other words: due to those nano-structures, those leaves become self-cleaning surfaces! All you need is a bit of water to clean it on a regular basis.
Now, wouldn’t it be a clever idea to – somehow – put that nano structure on the glass of your shower door?
Guess what: that system exists already. Not just on glass but also on floor tiles, roof tiles, on concrete and on paint.
Biomimicry! It’s how we learn from Nature and design according to ancient natural processes!

Jack Tame’s crisp perspective, style and enthusiasm makes for refreshing and entertaining Saturday morning radio on Newstalk ZB.

News, sport, books, music, gardens and celebrities – what better way to spend your Saturdays?

Jack Tame’s crisp perspective, style and enthusiasm makes for refreshing and entertaining Saturday morning radio on Newstalk ZB. News, sport, books, music, gardens and celebrities – what better way to spend your Saturdays?

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