Edible Flowers

Pluck a few flower petals and add flavor and color to your favorite salad, beverage, or jelly.

Start by making sure the flowers you select are edible and pesticide free. Remove the pistils and stamens to avoid the bitter flavor of pollen.

Nasturtium leaves and flowers can be used in salads to add color and a little zip. Or stuff these and daylily blooms with cream cheese for a fun garden appetizer.

Eat daylily buds fresh from the garden or boil them like snap beans, add a little butter, and serve. Or batter and fry daylily and squash flowers for a floral tempura.

Calendula gets its common name “pot marigold,” from the fact the flowers resemble a marigold and were used to season soups and stews that are typically cooked in pots.

Freeze a few pansy flowers in ice and add them to lemonade or sparkling water to add a gourmet touch to any meal.

A bit more information: As your garden comes alive with color try including a few blossoms in your salads, stir fries, and other dishes. Clary sage, fuchsia, chives, gladiolus, hyssop, lemon, orange, peony, plum, redbud, rose of Sharon, spiderwort, strawberry, and yucca are just a few of the edible flowers to include. And don’t forget the weeds. The leaves of purslane and both the leaves and flowers of dandelions and chickweeds can be used.