Today, Jude at Travel Words wants to see examples of edible orange. And just in case you think that only the bumble bees are enjoying my allotment nasturtiums, I have to confess I’ve lately been chomping the flowers whenever I go gardening. At the moment there’s a huge flock of them on the bed where I had broad beans earlier this summer. I’ve no idea how they got there (interspersed with pot marigolds) but they are making a colourful show, and their late arrival (seasonally speaking) means they have escaped depredations from cabbage white caterpillars and aphids.
The flowers are crisp, cool and peppery, and excellent added to salads along with their leaves. The seed heads are also edible, but due to their stronger flavour are perhaps better pickled than eaten ‘neat’.
The garden nasturtium has been much studied for medicinal benefits, and you can see some of the findings in the research paper HERE. This is a quote from the abstract:
The flowers and other parts of the garden nasturtium are a good source of micro elements such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium, and macro elements, especially of zinc, copper and iron. The essential oil, the extract from the flowers and leaves, and the compounds isolated from these elements have antimicrobial, antifungal, hypotensive, expectorant and anticancer effects. Antioxidant activity of extracts from garden nasturtium is an effect of its high content of compounds such as anthocyanins, polyphenols and vitamin C.
I shall thus keep chomping until the frost finishes the present crop. Meanwhile, too, the flowers are still available for any late-hibernating bee in need of a pollen fix.
Tish Farrell 
My daughter, the reptile fancier, had a bearded dragon when she was younger. He was never happier than when munching the Nasturtiums pilfered from the neighbours garden.
That is one fabulous image, Thom – a happy bearded dragon with snaffled nasturtiums in its mouth. A reptile who knew what was good for him/her.
Beautiful nasturtium and bee shots! I like the taste of them but didn’t know about the medicinal properties – anther reason to tuck in!
A good moment to stoke up with nutrients.
Thanks for the info.We need all the help we can get from the plant kingdom these days.
I agree, Beverly. Our ancestors understood much about plant-power.
Beautiful photography Tish 👍🤝
Thank you, Srikanth.
Beautiful photos Tish, and valuable information. Our nasturtiums are also trailing all over the garden and are still vibrantly in flower. Yes I eat them too, great that they have such health giving properties.
Keep eating, Agnes!
🙂
So beautiful.
Thank you, Lakshmi.
You have some beauties there Tish, mine all seem to be orange! As you say they make a lovely splash of colour at this time of the year.
I’m very pleased with these interlopers. I hope they stay on my plot.
I’m sure they will! I can’t get rid of mine, though saying that the lovely dark red ones I planted don’t come back – maybe one or two each year.
It’s interesting that those darker shades are so shy.
beautiful images, and what a treat to have up at the allotment – like your very own candy shop!
Exactly! and much less fattening (in theory anyway).
😍
Wonderful photos Tish.
Alison
Many thanks, Alison.
Reblogged this on Hutts Ultra Blogging World.
Gosh you’re giving me a good recycling, Pete 🙂
Love, love, love, love. I’ve had edible flowers in salad mixes and love them. Beautiful!
Happy to serve up my nasturtiums, Janet. Am wondering if you have any interesting edible flowers particular to your neck of the woods.
Not that I know of but I’m still a newbie to whatever flowers might be native here. Of course there are prickly pear fruits which are unusual and other cacti-related things.
Beautiful… I like the vibrant colors of nature. Awesome that you were able to catch the bees in action.
Many thanks, Dr. Y. I do a lot of bee stalking!