Tropaeolum majus
Nasturtium is an edible garden annual with a broad range of usable parts: leaves, flowers, stems, and young seed pods all carry some version of the same peppery, watercress-like bite.12 In the Northeast it earns its place less as a novelty flower than as a plant that can move between garnish, salad green, and preserve.
The flowers are the showiest part, but they are not the only useful one. University of Maine’s edible-flower guidance treats nasturtium as a landscape plant that also belongs in the kitchen, while its newer garden notes point out that the immature pods are the classic “poor man’s capers” comparison.13 That comparison is memorable because it is structurally right: the unopened buds and seed pods are the tight, firm parts that take well to brining or vinegar, while the open flowers are softer and better used fresh.
Its flavor is sharper than many edible flowers, which is why nasturtium reads more like a leafy brassica than like perfume. McGee groups it among edible flowers, but the reason it remains useful in savory food is that the petals add color while the rest of the plant still tastes distinctly green and peppery.2 That combination makes it one of the rare ornamental annuals that can plausibly anchor an ingredient page rather than just decorate a plate.
Footnotes
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University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “Maine Home Garden Newsletter — May 2026,” accessed July 24, 2026. ↩ ↩2
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Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, rev. ed. (Scribner, 2004), PDF page 340. ↩ ↩2
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University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “Gardening in Small Spaces,” accessed July 24, 2026. ↩