Today's Flowers #50

Nasturtiums grow like weeds in our garden! I have picked flowers and leaves to eat with salad leaves - peppery! I always look carefully at the undersides of the leaves, many of which play host to hordes of blackfly, and leave those on the plant.
I took this photograph for the beautifully variegated leaves which look as though they've been marbled. (Does anyone remember 'marbling' at school? Satisfying results in a very quick time. I tried it with a couple of primary school classes I taught too . . . ;-))

I thought this nasturtium was quite outstanding in its colour and form.

Photos will enlarge if clicked

I always thought capers were the pickled seed heads of nasturtiums but have just discovered that 'proper' capers come from the Caper plant (Capparis spinosa) which is native to the Mediterranean where it grows wild. Capers are widely used in Mediterranean cuisine.

Those I have always fondly held to be the real McCoy are actually known as 'Poor Man's Capers' and are a cheap substitute for the genuine and expensive article. Nonetheless I intend to pickle some this year and if we live to tell the tale I'll let you know what we all thought of them.

Thanks are owed to Luiz Santilli Jr., Denise Gullickson, Laerte Pupo and Valkyrien for hosting 'Today's Flowers'.

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