Spring is Here!

With the arrival of Spring comes the arrival of the garden. Will you be doing any gardening this year? Here are some suggestions on how to have a beautiful garden that you can also eat!

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.

— Alfred Austin

Grow These Flowers That are Beautiful AND Edible!

Grow edible flowers to give your garden beauty, with usefulness. Flowers are beautiful, but many of them are also edible! Use this list to supplement your garden with these edible beauties!

The past few days have been focused on the flowers that we are going to grow and all that we plan to do with them. I think it’s important to keep in mind the flowers that are edible when planning the garden and all it will have to offer this spring and summer.

Edible Flowers to Grow

I hope you are planning to use your flowers for more than just vase fillers this year. Many of these flowers are packed with vitamins and minerals and deserve a bigger space on the menu!

There are many ways to prepare flowers for the table. Some I like to munch raw, like violets and dandelion. Some are great stuffed – you have probably heard of recipes using day lily and squash blooms. Delicate rose petals can be candied in sugar and used to decorate all manner of baked goods.

Here are a few of my favorite flowers to eat:

• Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
• Clover (Trifolium spp.)
• Sage (Salvia spp.)
• Peony (Paeonia lactiflora)
• Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
• Rose (Rosa spp.)
• Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carrota)
• Cosmos (Cosmos spp.)
• Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)
• Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
• Violets and Pansies (Viola spp.)
• Borage (Borago officinalis)
• Hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.)
• Hollyhock (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)
• Lavender (Lavendula spp.)
• Daylily (Hemorocallis spp.)
• Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea cynaus)
• Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis)
• Gladiolus (Gladiolus spp.)
• Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
• Linden (Tilia spp.)
• Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
• Sunflower (Helianthus annus)
• Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
• Bee Balm (Monarda spp.)
• Scarlet Runner Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
• Squash (Cucurbita pepo)

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