• Home
  • Meet Mary Schier
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

July 3, 2010 · 12 Comments

Spitfire Nasturtiums: Pretty in Pots

Plants

The ‘Spitfire’ nasturtiums I’m growing as part of the bloggers’ Seed GROW project have really taken off in this container area near my front door. I love nasturtiums for their big showy foliage, but these also have vibrant orange blooms that stand out in my otherwise green, pink, and purple garden.

I planted the Spitfire nasturtiums in three different areas of my garden: the container area, which gets morning sun and is otherwise shady; a little spot near the garage, which gets morning sun but has tough clay soil; and near a pergola in back in a flower bed with rich, black soil.

Flowers peeking out from behind foliage.

In terms of bloom and height, the container nasturtiums are way ahead of the rest. They began climbing the simple wire trellis I put in the pot, with just a bit of encouragement from me. (I wound the plant tendrils around a few wires and tied one main stem loosely to the trellis.) The plant now covers much of the trellis and is spilling out of the pot. It  has been blooming for a couple of weeks. The orange flowers are bright enough to be seen from the street and are a great illustration of the power of orange.

“I’m growing Nasturtium “Spitfire” for the GROW project. Thanks, to Renee’s Garden for the seeds.”

Related posts:

  1. Holiday Containers on the Cheap, Part 2 With the weather about to cool way down, I didn’t...
  2. How to Create a Holiday Pot on the Cheap It’s easy to spend a lot of money on holiday...
  3. Three Great Garden Design Ideas Despite heat and humidity Saturday and intermittent storms Sunday, attendance...
« Three Great Garden Design Ideas
Deck Raised Garden Bed, Year 2 »

Comments

  1. Laura says

    July 3, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    I’m still waiting for blooms on the seeds my daughter planted. Your look fantastic! So tall. Mine stand maybe 6″. Sigh hopefully we will get a few blooms. For my kids sake at least.

  2. Monica the Garden Faerie says

    July 3, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    Love the contrast of the orange blooms with the blue pot!

  3. MrBrownThumb says

    July 4, 2010 at 12:03 am

    Oh, wow. That looks beautiful!

  4. Lisa says

    July 4, 2010 at 1:25 am

    Wow! My nasturtiums want to be like yours when they grow up! 🙂

  5. Colleen Vanderlinden says

    July 4, 2010 at 6:51 am

    Mary, your container ‘Spitfires’ are absolutely gorgeous! I’m envious 🙂

    Happy 4th of July!

  6. Diane McCarthy says

    July 4, 2010 at 10:34 am

    Wow, your container nasties are gorgeous! I suspect my plants are getting too much sun; I think that part sun/part shade combo is probably ideal.

  7. Mary Schier says

    July 4, 2010 at 12:32 pm

    Thanks, all, for your comments. The nasturtiums do seem to perform much better in partial shade. It may also help that I water and fertilize (fish emulsion) the pots, which I have not had to do with the rest of my garden because we’ve had a lot of rain.

  8. Gardenmom29 says

    July 5, 2010 at 9:36 am

    Those are beautiful! I am going to try some fish emulsion on mine…I haven’t fertilized in quite a while, I’ve been so busy. I wonder if mine get too much sun as well. Seeing yours, I have something to aspire to…

  9. Xan says

    July 6, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    Really lovely– this is what I expected them to do, but mine are just not loving where I planted them all.

Trackbacks

  1. My Northern Garden » Blog Archive » Easy Come, Easy Go says:
    August 3, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    […] have been growing as part of the SeedGROW project. By the time I took them out,  my formerly lovely pot nasturtiums were sad, indeed, (there is apparently a reason these are nicknamed “nasties”) with a […]

  2. My Northern Garden » Blog Archive » Deep Orange Nasturtiums for Fall says:
    October 3, 2010 at 8:55 pm

    […] have been a bit up and down with these nasturtiums, but I admire their persistence. With the heavy rains we had a week […]

  3. Garden Recycling | My Northern Garden says:
    November 10, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    […] climbing plants, such as this cucumber, or for plants the like the climb and tumble too, such as ‘Spitfire’ nasturtiums, which could grow up one side and down the other. It would also be a convenient place to tie tomato […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

Follow on Instagram

mynortherngarden_mary

Did I mention how exquisite the plant material is Did I mention how exquisite the plant material is at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia? I’ll be doing a full blog post soon about this and some of the other gardens we visited but as I’m heading home I’m cherishing all the great people on the Garden Fling tour, the amazing organizer @karl_gercens_ and the beautiful places we saw. 
.
.
.
#gbfling2023 #grateful #phillyfling #pennsylvaniafling #gardenbloggersfling #gardenbloggers

#baileynurseries  #cobrahead #crescentgarden #dramm #ealicata #gardenrant #thegreatgrowalong #longwoodgardens #monroviaplants #nwfs #northwestflowerandgardenfestival #picklewix #provenwinners #sandiaseed  #teakcloseouts
Philadelphia gardens are full of lush and lanes, t Philadelphia gardens are full of lush and lanes, tree snags and lichen. Perfect accent for our rainy garden tour. #gbfling2023 #americasgardencapital #lichen #fallgarden
Wait for it! The best gardens have secrets within Wait for it! The best gardens have secrets within them. #gbfling2023 #americasgardencapital #gardensecrets #paths #gardendestinations
Just 15 seconds of water sounds to ease you into y Just 15 seconds of water sounds to ease you into your weekend courtesy of @longwoodgardens fountains. Have a great one! #watermusic #gbfling2023 #phillyfling #americasgardencapital #soothing
I’ve loved this container in the front of our ho I’ve loved this container in the front of our house, but things are looking faded, so it’s time for a refresh. Out went the Persimmon supertunias (love them, but they have done their duty) and a new cuphea I’m testing (great plant.) In go fall celosia in bright yellow and bronze orange garden mum, both from @shopbachmans. I kept the Queen Tut papyrus for its spikey texture. We’re ready for fall! 

#fallcontainer #fallplanting #fallcelosia #gardenmums #mngardener #fallinMinnesota
Meet shaggy soldier, a weed that I have gotten to Meet shaggy soldier, a weed that I have gotten to know quite a bit this summer. It spreads like crazy, seeds abundantly and is all over my community garden. Sone sources say it is an edible herb but I’m just pulling for now. Next year, I’ll smother it out with newspaper, cardboard and/or mulch. What weed is your nemesis this year? #weedsinmygarden #galinsoga #shaggysoldier #mngarden #communitygarden #weedy #herborweed
Just another morning in the garden with my monarch Just another morning in the garden with my monarch friends. Have a peaceful, joyous Sunday! #communitygarden #monarchbutterfly #weekendvibes💕 #pollinators
What’s the difference between having enough sun What’s the difference between having enough sun and plenty of sun in the garden? These two Tithonias tell the tale! 

Plus don’t forget to stop by the @mnhort booth in the dirt wing of the Horticultural building at the @mnstatefair! I’ll be there Sunday from 1 to 5 pm and would love to hear how your garden is growing! 

#sunorshade #veggarden #communitygarden #howmuchsundoyouneed #tithonia #mexicansunflower
It’s a hot 🥵 hot day and nobody is moving too It’s a hot 🥵 hot day and nobody is moving too fast. Savor the slow. #nectar #zinniasofinstagram #beelife #mngarden
Ground cherries look like tomatillos but taste lik Ground cherries look like tomatillos but taste like tropical fruit.
They are an acquired taste but I love them, especially in a spicy jam. 

For this recipe, I mixed

2.5 cups of cleaned ground cherries, 
half a cup of water,
1 cup sugar
a few stray strawberries from the fridge,
 juice of a small lemon, 
a 1-inch piece of ginger
1 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg

 Boil away until it is thick. Store in the fridge and use as you would any jam. 

#communitygarden #groundcherries #mngardener #cookfromthegarden
What a fabulous day, touring gardens with garden c What a fabulous day, touring gardens with garden communicators from all over the U.S. and beyond! Minnesota gardens looked good today. Than you, @gardencomm_gci for visiting the Twin Cities!
Ribbit! Saw this beauty enjoying a beautiful garde Ribbit! Saw this beauty enjoying a beautiful garden in Washington County today. #daylily #gardentour #mngarden
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • What to Do with Not-Quite-Ripe Winter Squash? Recipes Included
  • Can You Eat a Sweet Potato Vine Tuber?
  • Growing Lilies in Containers
  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • Four Peony Problems and Solutions
  • Jams, Jellies, Preserves: What's the Difference?
  • Mushrooms Growing in Straw Bales
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)
  • Growing Peppers in Pots in the North
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2023 · captivating theme by Restored 316