Floral arrangements and plate garnishes add a classic and timeless elegance to the dinner table, but don’t miss out on the edible varieties and their culinary benefits.
An excellent example is the easy-to-grow nasturtium with its cheerful flowers and water-lily-like foliage, which hide high levels of vitamin C. With bush and climbing options, there’s a style for every situation, including containers, as long as the location has full sun, as less sun means fewer flowers. All aboveground parts are edible, boasting a peppery flavor reminiscent of watercress. Popular uses include green salads, potato salads, and egg and seafood dishes. The flowers can also be steeped to make a decorative and delicious nasturtium vinegar. Typically grown as an annual, it may become a perennial in frost-free climates.
Curious about which other flowers you can grow to eat? Here’s a list of edible flowers that offer a surprising range of flavors and uses.
Bee Balm
Often described as a flower having a bad hair day, bee balm (also known as horsemint, bergamot, or Oswego tea) adds whimsy to the garden. A member of the mint family, the highly fragrant white, pink, red, and purple flowers have a citrusy, sweet, minty flavor, with some gardeners swearing that the red variety has the best taste. It works well in salads and as a plate garnish.Use fresh flowers for the most vibrant Oswego. They’re best picked when they are newly opened. In addition to being a fine cuppa, bee balm has been used to help relieve upset stomach, nausea, and gas. Removing the flowers regularly encourages more blooming. Perennial in zones 3 to 9, it works well as an annual elsewhere.
Anise Hyssop
Another member of the mint family, anise hyssop smells and tastes very similar to its namesake, anise, but doesn’t need the lengthy 120-plus-day growing season. Blooming from late spring to late summer, it likes full sun but can tolerate partial shade (four to six hours of direct sun) and acts as a perennial in zones 4 to 9. In addition to the famous lavender, there are white, pink, and blue varieties. The black licorice-flavored flowers and leaves, fresh or dried, are a popular addition to a cordial and can also act as a substitute for tarragon, fennel, and chervil. It also makes a nice cough-reducing tea.Borage
The delicate star-shaped pastel blue flowers of borage add a surprising burst of cucumber flavor to salads, soups, and stews, or you can freeze the flowers in ice cubes to enhance cocktails. They also work well as candied flowers for cakes. The leaves are covered in irritating spines and therefore should be boiled for use, which is why they’re most popular as a stress-reducing, antioxidant tea. It is a hardy annual, growing from early summer to the first frost.
Borage adds a bright cucumber flavor to drinks, salads, cakes, or soups. Magdanatka/Shutterstock
Calendula
Dubbed “poor man’s saffron,” calendula petals are used to add a dash of color to eggs, cheeses, rice, and poultry dishes. The taste has a peppery bite (hence its nickname, peppery saffron). The flower petals or the whole flower can be used fresh or dried to make a tea that is more black tea-tasting than floral. The tea can also be applied topically to reduce acne and help with wound healing, rashes, and eczema. While perennial in zones 9 to 11, it makes a hearty annual elsewhere. Let the last few flowers dry on the plant to have plenty of seeds for next year.Chamomile
The cheery, daisy-like faces of German chamomile bring a smile. Famous for being a natural sleep remedy, its uses go well beyond a nighttime tea. The apple-flavored flowers and leaves, fresh or dried, can be added to salads, oatmeal, hot cereal, ice cream and custards, and more. Roman (or English) chamomile has health benefits as well, but be aware that the flowers and leaves are a bit bitter and, if used, should be used in moderation. All types are sensitive to extreme heat, so if you live in the far South, consider planting them in a partial shade location or growing them in the cooler months.
Chamomile is commonly used for tea, but the flowers and leaves can also be added to salads and desserts. LN team/Shutterstock
Chive Blossoms
The pretty pink and purple powder puff flowers of chives—which are probably already growing in the backyard garden—are good for much more than seed collecting. They add a delicate hint of onion and a pop of color to scrambled eggs, deviled eggs, cream cheese or butter, green salads, potato salad, salad dressing, and more.Roses
When it comes to roses, there are many sizes, fragrances, and flavors out there. Older heirloom varieties, such as rugosa roses, are considered the most flavorful. These medium-sized shrubs produce showy, fragrant white, yellow, pink, or purple flowers from June through August, with large rose hips (about one inch in diameter). One of the hardiest types available, it can suit zones 2 to 10 and offers great pest resistance. All parts can be used to make tea, while buds, petals, and hips are best for jellies and simple syrups. And let’s not forget how beautiful the flowers look as cake decorations.
Roses can be used to make tea, jellies, or syrups. Engin Akyurt/Pexels
Dear Readers: We would love to hear from you. What topics would you like to read about? Please send your feedback and tips to [email protected].
