Easy-From-Seed : Edible Flowers

Edible Flower Quiz – Most gardeners know that nasturtiums add a radishy kick to salads. And foodies appreciate the delectable texture and taste of battered and fried squash blossoms. But nasturtiums and squash blossoms are just two of dozens of flowers that go from seed to salad in a matter of weeks. Take this quiz to find out how much you do, or don’t know about the edible flowers in your garden:

ONE OF THE FOUR STATEMENTS ABOUT EACH VARIETY IS NOT TRUE.
WHICH IS IT? (Answers follow the quiz)

1. Scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) flowers
a. taste like beans.
b. attract hummingbirds.
c. can be used to garnish deviled eggs.
d. grow on an annual vine.

2. Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
a. flowers can be eaten fresh or used to make tea.
b. is perennial, but often blooms the first year when started from
seed.
c. is a favorite of deer.
d. adds a wonderful light licorice flavor to sugar cookies.

3. Borage flowers (Borago officinalis)
a. are beautiful frozen in ice cubes.
b. have a pronounced cucumber flavor.
c. are one of the few true blue flowers.
d. have been added to salads since Elizabethan times.

4. Calendula (Calendula officinalis) flowers
a. are known as “poor man’s saffron” because petals are sometimes
used to color and flavor rice.
b. grow easily from seed sown directly into the garden in spring.
c. can be dried whole in a well-ventilated space. Petals can then be
stripped and saved in a tight jar.
d. require at least 6-8 hours of full sun.

Quiz Answers:

  1. d. Scarlet runner bean is actually a perennial plant in its native Mexico. Other parts of the plant (in addition to the beautiful red flowers) are also edible: the dried bean, the young pods, and even the starchy root.
  2. c. Anise hyssop is generally avoided by deer. Use this to your advantage by planting a border of it around your garden.
  3. b. Although borage leaves have a pronounced cucumber flavor, the taste of the flowers is so delicate it is hard to define—mildly sweet and oh-so-slightly peppery.
  4. d. Scarlet runner bean is actually a perennial plant in its native Mexico. Other parts of the plant (in addition to the beautiful red flowers) are also edible: the dried bean, the young pods, and even the starchy root.

The Easiest of the Easy

The variety of edible flowers you can grow in your garden is likely more extensive than you realize. And isn’t it fortunate that many of them can be grown easily from seed? With fragile flowers, freshness is imperative. They do not store well, which explains why they are so expensive at the market. Plan to integrate a few into your landscape next season, and the payback will be threefold: color on your plate, taste on your tongue, and beauty in your garden.

 Edible-Flowers-in-Edmonds
Flowers of herbs, such as cilantro, often taste similar to the herbs themselves.

How can I tell which flowers are edible?
Not by taste testing, that’s for sure! Consult a reliable source—a university website or a trusted non-profit organization (such as the Home Gardening Seed Association), for example—before popping petals into your mouth. Generally, flowers of edible herbs are tasty and non-toxic.

Which edible flowers are the easiest to grow from seed?
There’s a sizable list of plants that, sown directly in the garden, yield edible flowers that same season. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Prepare the soil by loosening it and adding compost. Sow seed and cover the seedbed lightly with soil.HGSA recommends the following Top Ten for reliability, fast results, and flavor: Sow in early spring: arugula, bachelors’ button, calendula, cilantro, Johnny-jump-up Sow when the soil warms and night temperatures are above 50ºF: borage, nasturtium, scarlet runner bean, signet marigold, squash.

Where can I fit these edible flowers in my crowded garden?
Be creative in finding appropriate niches for these beauties. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Runner beans are best grown vertically, on an obelisk or trellis. Sow cilantro and bachelors’ buttons in spaces where bulbs have died back, and borage in areas vacated by spring greens. Many smaller edible flowers, such as calendula, Johnny-jump-ups, nasturtiums, and signet marigolds, are well suited for container growing. Use a generoussize container so that you will not have to be a slave to its needs in the heat of summer. As for the squash, the space hog, set aside a 3 x 3 foot space for arugula, and follow it with a hill of summer squash (two plants) for a good yield of greens, arugula flowers, squash blossoms, and a summer’s worth of fruit as well.

Edible-Flowers-From-Seed-in-Edmonds growing-squash-in-edmonds
Female (left) and male (right) squash blossoms are equally tasty
Common
name
Scientific name Flavor Comments
Anise hyssop Agastache
foeniculum
Sweet anise-like flavor Plants attract many different pollinators
Arugula Eruca vesicaria
sativa
Nutty, spicy, peppery
flavor – like the leaves
Leaves turn bitter when
flowers form
Bachelors’
Buttons
Centaurea
cyanus
Mild, slightly sweet to
spicy
Most often used as a garnish
Borage Borago
officinalis
Very mild flavor Carefully separate the blue
flower from its stem
Calendula Calendula
officinalis
Tangy and slightly
peppery
Petals lend a yellow hue to
cooked foods
Chives, Garlic Chives
Alliums spp.
Oniony and very flavorful Clip garlic chive flowers to
avoid self-sowing
Cilantro Coriandrum
sativum
Pungent and flavorful—
like the leaves
Cilantro flowers make a nice guacamole garnish
Lavender Lavandula spp. Floral, slightly perfumey
flavor
Intense flavor; use sparingly
Marigold Tagetes
tenuifolia
Flowers smell and taste
citrusy
Low mounding plants make a beautiful border
Nasturtium Tropaeolum
majus
Peppery, spicy, delicious! Entire flower can be eaten,
also the leaves and green
seedpods.
Okra Abelmoschus
esculentus
Very mild flavor Flowers are big and beautiful and can be used cooked or raw.
Peas, edible Pisum sativum Pea-like flavor Do not eat sweetpeas
(Lathyrus latifolius)
Scarlet Runner Phaseolus
coccineus
Sweet bean flavor Beautiful vines need a fence or trellis
Squash Cucurbita pepo Soft texture, mild flavor Both male and female
blossoms can be used
Viola Viola tricolor Mild pea-like flavor Candied or used fresh in salads or as a garnish
Credit: homegardenseedassociation.com