For a few years now, you’ve been growing your vegetable garden at home. In the spring, you rush to the garden store to get the largest selection of vegetables and herbs to plant. You like to try new varieties each season to discover new flavours, but have you ever thought about planting edible flowers? Without knowing it, you may already have a few in your flower beds. Edible flowers are pretty easy to grow and add colour and flavour to dishes. Here are some varieties to try:
Beebalm
With its beautiful bright red or pink flowers, beebalm is a perennial honey plant that attracts butterflies to the garden. Its lemony taste is reminiscent of bergamot. Use the fresh leaves to flavour butter or creamy cheese, or to add a little pep to your fruit salads. To decorate your cakes and pastries, glaze them with an egg white and icing sugar to crystallize them: enchanting! You can also dry the leaves and flowers and chop them up to make some tea.Nasturtium
Nasturtiums grow very easily and their stems tend to curl and cling. Climb them on a fence or trellis and their orange, yellow and red flowers are sure to make a statement! You can eat anything from nasturtium:- The leaves have a peppery taste that adds flavour to salads and is a good substitute for lettuce in sandwiches and burgers.
- The flowers are also slightly peppery, add them as a garnish to your salads or infuse them in oil or butter. Why not add them to your favorite cocktail?
- The flower buds and seeds can be preserved in vinegar and eaten like capers.
Daylilies
Daylilies are very hardy and will grow just about anywhere. It’s not uncommon to find them along roadsides in the wild. Their beautiful orange, yellow, red or pink flowers last only a day. Daylilies are eaten in two stages. To begin with, the first shoots are delicious, they are served like a green vegetable: boiled, steamed, sautéed and even raw.Later on, the flowers can be eaten as they are crispy, a bit like romaine lettuce. Add them to salads for texture and colour. You can pick the flowers early in the morning and stuff them with a fresh herb cheese mixture, or fry them in a light batter to make little fritters. When cooked, daylilies taste like asparagus.Garden marigold
Known for its beautiful coloured pompoms that can resemble daisies, marigolds tolerate the cold well, even withstanding the first frosts of the fall. It is an annual plant, but it reseeds itself, so you will happily find it next year. Rich in carotene and vitamin B, marigold flowers colour dishes much like saffron does… without the exorbitant price! They enhance the flavors of any rice or egg dish.Pansy
Pansies bloom all season long and grow in pots as well as in-ground. The sweet, minty flowers can be used to decorate salads, tartars or desserts, making them as beautiful as they are delicious! Add the petals to your water to give it a little extra!
Be careful, not all flowers are edible. Some may even be toxic to humans. Our nursery specialists will be able to advise you on the best choices to make if you want to try edible flowers!
