Flowers You Can Eat: A Guide to Growing and Harvesting Edible Blooms

Learn How to Grow and Harvest Edible Flowers

To add chive blossoms to green salads, remove the central stem and separate the florets.

Nothing says “gourmet” like colorful flower petals in a salad, tiny Johnny jump-ups on a birthday cake, or sautéed daylily buds in a stir-fry. Edible flowers are a fun, easy way to add color and flavor to dishes—especially when picked from your own garden.

Most edible flowers are best eaten raw—pick and rinse. They taste and look best right after opening, not after days open.

Two critical rules: 1) Not every flower is edible—some are poisonous. Stick to the list below or research thoroughly for safety. 2) Avoid flowers that may have been sprayed with insecticide, fungicide, or herbicide. Since most edible flowers (except roses) are easy to grow organically, this is rarely an issue. Only eat dandelions from an organic lawn.

For flowers that look good and taste good, consider:

• Alliums. Chives, leeks, garlic—delicious in green salads, potato/pasta salads, dips. Remove central stem from flower cluster to release florets.
• Nasturtiums. Blossoms have peppery watercress flavor. All colors/varieties tasty in salads or as garnishes. Leaves edible too.
• Marigolds. Use tiny signet marigold flowers (Lemon Gem, Tangerine Gem). Citrus taste.
• Pansies and Johnny jump-ups. Wintergreen flavor, pretty on cakes and desserts. Glaze with warmed jelly for jeweled look.
• Calendula. Easy, prolific, grows from seed in garden. Separate petals from center, sprinkle in salads. Colors: yellow to orange/red. Deadhead for continuous bloom early summer to late fall.
• Anise hyssop. If you like anise, this is your flower. Separate florets for sweet/savory dishes, or use whole flowers to garnish cheese plates.
• Honeysuckle. Blossoms pretty in salads. Don't eat berries—they're poisonous.
• Scarlet runner beans. Bright-red flowers in salads or with steamed veggies.
• Borage. Fuzzy-leaved herb with sky-blue flowers, light cucumber taste. Add to fruit/green salads or freeze in ice cubes for cold drinks.
• Bee balm. Mint-family member with minty flowers. Colors: bright red to purple/pink.
• Chamomile. English chamomile: small daisy-like flowers, apple-like flavor. Avoid if allergic to ragweed.
• Daylily. Buds and flowers taste like asparagus. Use as garnish, stuffed, fritters, or in stir-fries.
• Mint. All mint-family flowers edible with pleasant taste. Try lemon balm or spearmint in iced tea.
• Squash blossoms. Use like daylilies.