A plant’s leaves and fruits are its most consumed parts. However, many people don’t know that numerous garden flowers are perfect for adding spice and flavor to various dishes. While flowers are mainly used for decorative purposes, they also have culinary uses, allowing you to get more use from your garden.
Still, it’s crucial to follow some guidelines before eating flowers. Choose ones you are entirely sure are edible, as many flowers look like each other. It’s also best to consume flowers grown organically, as retailers tend to spray flowers with pesticides. Wash all flowers before eating them, and be sure to consume only the petals.
Here are five edible flowers to consider planting if you want to cultivate an edible garden:
1. Roses
Roses are most known as the flower of love, but you may be surprised to learn that they have a slightly citrusy taste to them. They’re renowned for their fragrance and appearance, but their flavor is mostly sweet with some bitter and spice. Additionally, all parts of a rose are edible, allowing you to make the most out of it.
Rose leaves are great for brewing in tea, offering a similar taste to black tea. Rosebuds also bear the most flavor. Drying them brings out their strongest characteristics, and it’s ideal to add rose petals to salad, use them as dessert garnishes, or infuse honey with them.
2. Nasturtiums
Nasturtium leaves are spicy and peppery, while the flowers have a sweeter, gentler taste. They’re a popular plant available in different varieties, like trailing and upright and have a warm color range full of yellows, oranges, and reds. All parts of the plant are edible, including the seeds.
Nasturtium seedlings thrive best when planted in warm soil during the spring. They need darkness to germinate, making them great as indoor plants. Once the seedlings have thinned and are ready to be put outdoors, they’ll blossom in a location that receives abundant sunlight.
3. Calendula
Known as “poor man’s saffron,” the calendula is an edible flower with a tangy flavor with hints of a bitter taste. The flower is famous for its skin-healing properties, the tint it adds to food, and the saffron-like flavor it releases. Like nasturtiums, calendula flowers are available in a wide range of oranges and yellows.
Calendulas bloom in a location with partial to full sun during the spring. You can also plant your seeds during early autumn if you live in certain places. However, it’s important to note that calendula plants prefer cooler weather.
4. Lavender
Most people are well-acquainted with lavender’s calming, skin-rejuvenating properties, making it a popular ingredient in various beauty products. The blooms are also edible, bearing a distinct taste with a hint of mint and rosemary flavors. They add intense flavor to sweet dishes, so it’s important to add only a little.
Lavender is challenging to grow from planting seedlings. For best results, grow lavender from cuttings or a garden center. The plant prefers cool winters and hot, dry summers and works best in well-drained soil and places with plenty of sunlight.
5. Daylily
Unlike the other flowers, daylilies have a mild vegetable flavor that is comparable to that of asparagus. Be sure to remove the white base of the bloom, which is bitter, before consuming them. It is also crucial to ensure that you are eating a daylily and not other kinds of lilies, as they can be toxic.
The daylily is a perennial plant that works best in late spring or early fall and thrives in all soil conditions but requires abundant sun. It is available in various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and white. It blooms from spring through summer.
Conclusion
Cultivating your own edible garden is incomplete without adding beautiful, fragrant, and tasty flowers that can upgrade your dishes. By planting these flowers, you’ll explore new culinary horizons while adding gorgeous blooms to your home.
Blossom & Broom is your go-to for home and garden aesthetics help, sharing various tips about growing your food by discussing edible landscape plants for your flower garden. Check out our other articles today to learn more about improving your home!
