Grow, Then Eat, These Beautiful and Delicious Flowers
Flavor your garden and your favorite dishes with edible flowers
Aislin Gibson
March 29, 2018
Houzz Contributor. Design Director of Modern Hive and Harvard grad student earning a Masters in Sustainability. I write about ways to create homes with a positive impact on people and the environment, and to share what I'm learning as I design our urban homestead. I am slowly renovating a 1962 midcentury Eichler home with my husband, boys, chickens, beehives and a dog. Our design adventures are at modernhivedesign.com.
Houzz Contributor. Design Director of Modern Hive and Harvard grad student earning... More
The world’s top chefs covet the flavors, colors and architectural shapes of edible flowers. When I visited Kate Olen, the culinary farmer for The French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s world-famous restaurant in Yountville, California, she noted that the flowers at the restaurant’s farm are the chefs’ most sought-after ingredients.
Adding edible flowers to your garden is a delicious way to support our pollinator population and grow a gourmet ingredient that can be used to flavor your culinary masterpieces.
Adding edible flowers to your garden is a delicious way to support our pollinator population and grow a gourmet ingredient that can be used to flavor your culinary masterpieces.
If you’ve ever eaten artichokes, cauliflower or broccoli, then you’ve already tasted edible flowers. To expand your repertoire, try growing the following edible flowers at home. You can grow savory flowers, herb-flavored ones or those that are perfect for desserts.
Savory Flowers
Squash blossoms. These flowers can be stuffed with ricotta and fried in Italian recipes, or used as an ingredient in Mexican squash blossom quesadillas.
Male blossoms sprout before female flowers, and these are the flowers you’ll want to harvest. (Female blossoms mature into squash.) Each male flower has a skinny stem, compared with the thick-stemmed female flower that often has a tiny immature zucchini or pumpkin already growing at its base. When harvesting, be sure to leave one or two male flowers on the plant so that bees can transfer the pollen to pollinate the female flowers.
The squash bee, a sleepy pollinator that moves drowsily inside the flower, is a rare garden visitor. These bees do the hard work of pollinating the squash blossoms, so keep an eye out for them. At night they’ll curl up inside the flowers to sleep.
See how to grow squash
Squash blossoms. These flowers can be stuffed with ricotta and fried in Italian recipes, or used as an ingredient in Mexican squash blossom quesadillas.
Male blossoms sprout before female flowers, and these are the flowers you’ll want to harvest. (Female blossoms mature into squash.) Each male flower has a skinny stem, compared with the thick-stemmed female flower that often has a tiny immature zucchini or pumpkin already growing at its base. When harvesting, be sure to leave one or two male flowers on the plant so that bees can transfer the pollen to pollinate the female flowers.
The squash bee, a sleepy pollinator that moves drowsily inside the flower, is a rare garden visitor. These bees do the hard work of pollinating the squash blossoms, so keep an eye out for them. At night they’ll curl up inside the flowers to sleep.
See how to grow squash
Chive blossoms. They may look like delicate purple flowers, but chive blossoms also taste just like chives. They can be mixed into butter at room temperature to make a tasty chive spread for toast, eggs or anywhere you’d like a dollop of buttery, chive-flavored goodness.
Chive blossoms appear in early spring. I harvest a few at a time, shaking out pesky aphids if needed, and wrap them in a damp towel to keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days if I can’t use them right away.
See how to grow chives
Chive blossoms appear in early spring. I harvest a few at a time, shaking out pesky aphids if needed, and wrap them in a damp towel to keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days if I can’t use them right away.
See how to grow chives
Buzz buttons. Also called Szechuan buttons, buzz buttons (Acmella oleracea) are a tingly new ingredient used in everything from cocktails to sorbets, and they’re also used to season meat dishes in Brazil and India. Buzz buttons’ flowers have been used to treat toothaches and throat and gum infections, leading to the plant’s nickname as the “toothache plant.”
The flower buds of this plant resemble those of billy button, the popular yellow flower seen on many social media feeds, but feature a citrusy, buzzing, numbing feeling when chewed.
The flower buds of this plant resemble those of billy button, the popular yellow flower seen on many social media feeds, but feature a citrusy, buzzing, numbing feeling when chewed.
Herb-Flavored Flowers
Nasturtiums. This is an easy-to-grow, prolific annual that climbs and spills into empty areas of an edible garden. First grown by the Incas in Peru and Ecuador, they come in many colors — even combinations of colors — so they will accentuate the palette of any outdoor room.
A distant relative of watercress, nasturtiums have a peppery taste. Flowers and small, tender leaves can be added to salads for a peppery kick. The pea-size seeds can be pickled and used like capers.
Nasturtiums. This is an easy-to-grow, prolific annual that climbs and spills into empty areas of an edible garden. First grown by the Incas in Peru and Ecuador, they come in many colors — even combinations of colors — so they will accentuate the palette of any outdoor room.
A distant relative of watercress, nasturtiums have a peppery taste. Flowers and small, tender leaves can be added to salads for a peppery kick. The pea-size seeds can be pickled and used like capers.
Lavender. This popular Mediterranean shrub is often used for aromatherapy, but it has a double life as an edible plant. Lavender is an essential ingredient in herbes de Provence, an herb blend from the Provence region of southeast France often used to season lamb or chicken. Lavender is a beautiful candied sprinkle for confections and lemon shortbread.
After trying many varieties of easy-to-grow lavender, I found sweet lavender (Lavandula x heterophylla), shown here, to be especially resilient in my drought-prone California garden. It also has the same tight flowers as French lavender (L. dentata), as opposed to those bunny ears that Spanish lavender (L. stoechas) has, which means the buds can be harvested and sprinkled on cupcakes.
See how to grow lavender
After trying many varieties of easy-to-grow lavender, I found sweet lavender (Lavandula x heterophylla), shown here, to be especially resilient in my drought-prone California garden. It also has the same tight flowers as French lavender (L. dentata), as opposed to those bunny ears that Spanish lavender (L. stoechas) has, which means the buds can be harvested and sprinkled on cupcakes.
See how to grow lavender
Fruity or Sweet Flowers
In addition to the savory or herb-like flavor that flowers can add to dishes, they also can bring fruity, floral highlights to your desserts and cocktails.
Pansies and violas. In Victorian times, pansies and violas were sugared and eaten as candies. You also can gently rinse them and use them fresh to decorate a spring dessert. Their soft texture and vivid color can turn a simple white cake, like this one I baked last Easter, into a stunning centerpiece.
See how to grow pansies
In addition to the savory or herb-like flavor that flowers can add to dishes, they also can bring fruity, floral highlights to your desserts and cocktails.
Pansies and violas. In Victorian times, pansies and violas were sugared and eaten as candies. You also can gently rinse them and use them fresh to decorate a spring dessert. Their soft texture and vivid color can turn a simple white cake, like this one I baked last Easter, into a stunning centerpiece.
See how to grow pansies
Pineapple guava. Also called feijoa, pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) is a South American shrub that produces edible fruits and extremely fragrant, fruit-flavored flowers. (The flowers also attract bees, butterflies and birds.)
If you can’t wait until fall, when its fruit ripens, you can snack on the fleshy petals that bloom in early summer. Their flavor has been described as sweet, tart and even like a “minty marshmallow.” Eat them straight from the tree, sprinkle them in iced tea or make a jelly with them.
Pineapple guava can be grown in a large pot, as shown in this container planting. It’s drought-tolerant, and the leaves will provide year-round interest when it’s not producing edible flowers and fruit. In my garden, the gray-green foliage coordinates with our modern, minimalist aesthetic.
If you can’t wait until fall, when its fruit ripens, you can snack on the fleshy petals that bloom in early summer. Their flavor has been described as sweet, tart and even like a “minty marshmallow.” Eat them straight from the tree, sprinkle them in iced tea or make a jelly with them.
Pineapple guava can be grown in a large pot, as shown in this container planting. It’s drought-tolerant, and the leaves will provide year-round interest when it’s not producing edible flowers and fruit. In my garden, the gray-green foliage coordinates with our modern, minimalist aesthetic.
How to Harvest Edible Flowers
Harvest flowers early in the morning on a cool, dry day. This is when their water content and aromas are at their highest concentrations, before the heat of the day causes them to evaporate. They should be used as soon as possible or dried to prevent flavor loss.
1. Wash flowers thoroughly before you eat them. Shake them gently to remove any hidden bugs and then wash them under a gentle mist or in a colander set in a bowl of water to prevent petals from bruising.
2. Dry flowers quickly on paper towels or another absorbent surface to ensure that they retain their perfume and color.
3. Remove the stamen (middle reproductive part that often contains pollen), as the pollen can detract from the flavor.
4. Don’t overheat them. When preparing flowers, heat may evaporate the delicate aroma compounds and leave you with a beautifully scented home but bland-tasting food.
Caution: Consume only the flower varieties you are positive are safe for eating. Research flower varieties, ask your local nursery staff and make informed decisions about which flowers to harvest for food. Flowers are safe to eat only if they are not treated with pesticides. For this reason, do not eat flowers from florists, directly from nursery plants or from the side of the road.
Harvest flowers early in the morning on a cool, dry day. This is when their water content and aromas are at their highest concentrations, before the heat of the day causes them to evaporate. They should be used as soon as possible or dried to prevent flavor loss.
1. Wash flowers thoroughly before you eat them. Shake them gently to remove any hidden bugs and then wash them under a gentle mist or in a colander set in a bowl of water to prevent petals from bruising.
2. Dry flowers quickly on paper towels or another absorbent surface to ensure that they retain their perfume and color.
3. Remove the stamen (middle reproductive part that often contains pollen), as the pollen can detract from the flavor.
4. Don’t overheat them. When preparing flowers, heat may evaporate the delicate aroma compounds and leave you with a beautifully scented home but bland-tasting food.
Caution: Consume only the flower varieties you are positive are safe for eating. Research flower varieties, ask your local nursery staff and make informed decisions about which flowers to harvest for food. Flowers are safe to eat only if they are not treated with pesticides. For this reason, do not eat flowers from florists, directly from nursery plants or from the side of the road.
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My yard is full of wild violets spring and summer. Beautiful and tasty in salads and mixed in honey butter.
We had lots of wild violets in our yard, so I've candied them and also made violet syrup from them. It's a lot of fun, although you need tons of flowers for the syrup. But the bonus is that you can make several pretty and refreshing spring/summer drinks from it, both alcoholic and non.