Workhorses and Soul Satisfiers - Plants I'd Never Give up.
In every garden there are a few treasured plants that the gardener would defend bodily if someone came in and threatened to take them away. Some we guard fiercely because they have sentimental value. Others are workhorses - plants so obliging in their attitudes that we could scarcely conceive of creating a garden without them. A few may be triumphs - plants they said we couldn't grow - but we did.
Since all of us have different gardening requirements, our individual lists may very greatly. But I wanted to introduce you to a few of the workhorses of my own garden, and hope that you will share some of your own favorites in return. By workhorses, I mean plants that do more than sit around looking lovely. They may attract beneficial insects, they may solve design problems, or they may be especially generous contributors to the other dimensions of the garden - touch, scent or sound.
Jacks of all trades
Jacks-of-all trades are plants that not only look good in the garden but are actually functional. Read any book on companion planting or natural pest control and you'll find tons of these. The following just happen to be my personal favorites.
Nasturtium When I first planted nasturtiums it was just because someone gave me seeds and I had a lot of holes to fill in my planting scheme. I tossed them somewhat cavalierly into the ground near a very muted area of the garden full of silver and blue and purple foliage and flowers. They practically leapt out of the ground and woke up the whole garden almost instantly. Since then, I have never been without these lovely plants. In the first place, they look great. The foliage is interesting, especially in the cultivar 'Alaska' with it's brightly marbled green and white markings. They grow quickly and hide all kinds of gaps in the garden - and if you get the right kind, they can also trail attractively over the edges of raised beds.
They are edible - the leaves and flowers both having a peppery flavor that is dynamite in a salad. But you want to be sure to wash them very carefully, because, besides contributing brightness and flavor to the garden they are also trap plant for aphids. This is not a bad thing - it keeps them out of my roses, and the nasturtiums grow so bountifully that I hardly notice the pest damage. If they get bad, they are easy to pull and toss away.
Latest Articles