Sunflower petals are bittersweet and can be used in salads. A potential garden coaching client got in touch with me about growing edible flowers. Which reminded me about this great list that I came across during my mid-winter garden reading.
Here are details on each (taste-wise) and when you can start them from seed or buy them as transplants.
Bachelor's Buttons (Mild and sweet - Salads and desserts) - Early spring from seed.
Calendula (Tangy, slightly bitter - Baked goods, rice dishes) - Early spring from seed. Or, you can find transplants at the farmers' market and nurseries.
Dianthus (Mild clove - Garnish for vegetables, fruit salads, cold drinks) - Buy as a transplant now.
Marigold (Spicy and citrus-y - Salad garnish) - Very easy from seed right now or as a transplant.
Nasturtium (Spicy and peppery - Stuff flowers with soft cheese (yum!)) - Very easy from seed right now.
Salvia (Slightly sweet - Add leaves to soups and cooked greens) - Buy as a transplant now.
Hyacinth bean (Bean-like - Use in soups, sandwiches and salads) - Very easy from seed now. Only use edible flowers from the Ruby Moon variety.
Squash blossoms (Sweet and savory - Fry 'em up) - Start your summer squash plants in early May from seed.
Sunflowers (Bittersweet - Salads) - Start from seed in early May.
Violas (Wintergreen - Dessert and salads garnishes and decorations) - Buy as transplants now.
Also, this season's issue of The Herb Quarterly has a fantastic section on meals with edible flowers. I have the candied violet vanilla cake dancing around in my head as a possible experiment. It's always nice to have a cake dancing around in one's head, I must say.
1 comment:
You might specify the species of Salvia you mean. I doubt any species are poisonous, but some would definitely be unpleasant to eat (like white sage)
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