Edible Flowers - Eating your Flower Garden

I’ve recently been making quince preserve (see below for quince blog link) and one of the ingredients I added was rose petal water. Which later got me thinking about other edible flowers I use in salads and in baking and whether there were more that I could add to my culinary list.

There are, of course, lots more, even though I thought I used plenty! For example, I haven’t yet tried eating annual cornflowers, Centaurea cyanus, also known as bachelor’s button.

But before we get onto a list of edible flowers, a few basic health and safety rules: –

Be sure you know what you’re eating – it sounds obvious, but not all flowers are good for you no matter how pretty they look.
Flower petals are generally the parts used; so discard the stamens, pistil, calyx of the blooms; also the bitter tasting ‘heel’ at the base of the petal.
Use organic flowers for preference. If you can’t find edible flowers labelled organic then look for ‘culinary purposes’ or culinary use’ on the label. There may be pesticides but they will be at an ‘acceptable level’ for digestion.
If you’re going to eat flowers from your garden, pick the ones that haven’t been soiled by pets and garden pests. Nuff said.
If you’re buying flowering plants from a garden centre or nursery with the aim of eating the flower petals, either look for ‘organically grown’ on the label or grow on at home for at least 3 months before eating.
Grow your own edible flowers – but make sure your soil, soil improver, fertiliser and any foliage sprays are organic. Unless you want to eat pesticides, of course.

Edible Flowers – a personal list

The edible flowers list I’ve written out for you only includes ornamental flowers that I’ve tasted myself, or how else could I comment? I haven’t included any herbs, salads fruit or vegetables which have flowers on purpose; largely on the grounds that you’re more likely to be aware that they have edible flowers.

Cornflower

Cornflower, Centaurea cyanus. This is the annual cornflower. Usually a rich summer sky blue but also found in shades of pink and purple and even white. They are all edible

Roses

Roses and edible rose petals. The best rose petals for eating are picked from those roses which have the best fragrance. The old fashioned varieties of shrub rose are particularly good. Basically though, if the scent assails your senses the flavour will be delicious on your tongue!

Sunflower

Sunflower, Helianthus annuus. Yes, the petals as well as the tasty seeds and useful oil are edible. The flower bud is tasty steamed like an artichoke it seems (I haven’t tried this technique yet)

Violets

Violets, viola, pansies. You may have guessed this one if you ate Parma violet sweets as a child. The petals with the best are from the scented flowers, as you would expect. SO generally violets rather than pansies.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus

These flowers have a spicy, peppery flavour, great in salads; the leaves and seeds are edible too.

Lilac

Lilac, Syringa. These flowers taste remarkably like they smell, if you see what I mean. Nice added to cupcakes.

Jasmine

Think of Jasmine tea, a Chinese favourite and a regular afternoon brew at Plews.

Hibiscus

Also an edible flower used in tea, I have also tasted it used with rose petals to flavour jelly – delicious!

Clover

Clover, Red clover, Trifolium pratense; White clover, Trifolium repens. So who sipped the sweet nectar out of clover flowers as a child? Still a favourite of mine (perhaps I was a bee in a former life?)

Dianthus

Dianthus, carnations, garden pinks. When I could tear myself away from inhaling their dusky, clove like aroma I found they tasted just as divine. They’ve been a ‘secret’ ingredient in the French liqueur Chartreuse since the seventeenth century. I will just have to grow even more in my garden next year so I can eat as well as smell…

Chrysanthemum

Peppery edging on bitterness; I’m not totally convinced.

Daisy, Bellis perennis

Some of the petals were tasteless, some a bit bitter. I’m sure these tasted better when I was a child!

Gladiolus

Probably best using the showy petals as a garnish as they’re a bit bland. Only eat the petals though.

Fuchsia

Slightly tangy – surprising! And a delightful edible garnish to a sweet tart.

Calendula, Marigold, Pot Marigold

I love these edible flowers and use them frequently as they have a good tangy spicy taste. The poor plants don’t stand much chance when I grow them as I also use them as sacrificial plants so the slugs eat them rather than the lettuces! I have found that the deeper coloured flowers have the stronger flavour.

Some sources for organic edible flowers, fresh, dried and crystallised –

These are just a few suppliers of edible flowers, both fresh and dried. When I first wrote this blog it was “a new thing” now, much less so. These are suggestions, and I need to clarify that Plews does not get any financial benefits should you use them. However, if they ask where you heard of them, we’d be grateful if you said Plews Potting Shed blog / Plews Garden Design

Fresh edible flowers – try Maddocks Farm Organics and Greens of Devon

Dried organic edible flowers online – try Steenbergs and The Edible Flower Shop

For boxed crystallised edible flowers online try Meadowsweet Flowers. Their list includes purple geranium flowers – I didn’t know you could eat border Geraniums, I’d only used scented Pelargoniums in baking. (Pelargoniums are also known as pot geraniums). I know now and have eaten plenty!

We will revisit edible flowers in another blog – the ornamentals require more taste testing and recipe experimentation, whilst the herb blossoms, salad flowers and vegetable blooms all deserve their own blogs!

And if you’d like some help in designing your own edible flower garden, please get in touch – I also offer ‘design at a distance’ particularly for planting designs, making full use of zoom calls and live videos.

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below.

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