Edible Flowers You Can Find In Your Garden

edible flowers

When we think about foods for
Spring, we often just think about the root, leaf, or stalk of the food. But
there’s a lot of nutritional and medicinal value being overlooked in many
varieties of edible flowers. Some flowers can be eaten, others can be mixed
in with the herb they are attached to, and then there are others that work
better as a tea or tonic.

This expands the argument for organic gardening. When you raise
your garden using GMO free, heritage, or heirloom seeds, and free from
chemical pesticides, you open up a whole new benefit from your typical flower
garden. Not only can you enjoy looking at your garden, but you can enjoy
eating and getting some nutrition form your flowers as well. Here is a list
of some edible flowers that you may not be aware are perfectly safe to eat,
along with some of their nutritional qualities.

Nutritious Edible
Flowers Sitting Right Under Your Nose

Nasturtium

Where I live in Southern California, nasturtiums grow wild and
sometimes occupy entire hillsides. Although foraging for wild edible flowers
can seem exciting, it’s best to only forage from private yards or remote
areas where you know for sure the flowers haven’t been contaminated by
pesticides, car exhaust or other pollutants. Nasturtiums add
awesome color to any plate, and have a peppery, slightly spicy kick in flavor.
They can be used in salads, mixed into compound butter, or sautéed with pasta
or scrambled eggs.

The leaves and petals of nasturtium are extremely nutritious as
they contain vitamin C and iron. The leaves also have antibiotic properties
which are at their most effective just before the plant
flowers.

According to this article, in traditional medicine, an ointment
is made from nasturtium flowers and used to treat skin conditions as well as
hair loss. The group of phenols in the pigments of orange and red flowers
helps naturalize the damaging effects of free radicals, thereby helping to
protect us from chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and
cancer.

Check out this recipe for spaghetti
with calabrese broccoli & nasturtium.

Rose Petals

Rose petals can be used for all sorts of culinary purposes. I have
made candied rose petals, rose flavored ice cream, and I even tried the rose
petal sauce that goes with quail from the novel Like
Water for Chocolate
, just for fun and giggles! Roses are used for
jam, cake decorating, or even more obscure recipes like this
Indian rose milk
, which can be done as written, or try a modified
version with healthier sweeteners, vegan milk, and chia
seeds.

Because petals contain about 95 percent water, their nutritional
value is limited and their calorie count is low. However, the petals do
contain some vitamin C, though less than that found in rose hips, the fruit
of the rose that appears after the flowers drop. Ancient Chinese medicine
used roses to treat digestive disorders, the pain from injuries and menstrual
irregularities.

Fennel

Fennel is another plant that grows wild all over California.
Fennel leaves, stalks and bulbs give a great licorice flavor to soups, stews,
and sauces. But, if you can catch your fennel plant when it is flowering, you
can bring the same licorice essence with a simple sprinkle of the flowers
over a salad, a pice of fish, or a scoop of ice cream or yogurt. When you are
done enjoying the flower, don’t forget to eat the bulb sometime soon, as
fennel is considered one of the world’s healthiest foods. Fennel
contains vitamin C, folate, molybendum, manganese, potassium, calcium,
copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and vitamin B3, or niacin. For example,
a one-cup serving of raw fennel provides about 10 mg of vitamin C, or 17
percent of the daily value; 360 mg of potassium, or 10 percent of the daily
value; and 43 mg of calcium, or 4 percent of the daily value. One cup of raw
fennel bulb also contains less substantial amounts of the minerals selenium
and zinc and vitamins A, B1, B2, B5 and B6.

Squash

One of my favorite edible flowers is the squash blossom, mostly
due to its ability to be stuffed! A highlight of our summer gardening
adventures at my house is foraging into the squash patch in the morning to
pick fresh squash blossoms while they are big and open, then stuffing them
with delightful things like goat cheese, vegan cheese, shellfish, or
pumpkinseed filling.

Squash blossoms, like any flower, are light and delicate, and
therefore don’t offer a lot of calories. One cup of squash blossoms only
has five calories! That said, squash blossoms offer some carbohydrates and
protein, and are high in calcium and iron and especially high in vitamins
C
 and A. So, they are a much better choice than a lot of
less healthful, calorically dense foods you could be stuffing. Here is a
recipe for vegan
stuffed and pan seared squash blossoms
.

Dandelion

Well, this is one you probably wish you wouldn’t find in your
garden, because it’s considered a weed by many standards. But dandelions are
one of those unsuspecting “weeds” that actually bring a lot of
nutritional value to the picture. Dandelion is high in vitamins A, C,
& K, and also provides some protein, carbohydrates, and omega-3 fatty
acids, and they score high on the ANDI score for nutrient density. And, they
are super abundant in Spring!

Dandelion leaves can be used in salads, soups, juiced, cooked the
same way as spinach, or dried (with flowers) to make dandelion tea. The root
can be dried and roasted and used as a coffee substitute, and the flowers can
be used to make dandelion wine. The entire plant is edible, and the leaves
contain vitamins A, C and K, along with calcium, iron, manganese, and
potassium.

Lavender

Have you ever had lavender chicken, or white fish poached with
lavender cream, or lavender ice cream? Well, this blog is about nutrition, so
I am not going to push the cream or the ice cream too much on here. But I did
want to point out that lavender flowers can be enjoyed in food. They make a
great garnish for salad, sprinkle over ravioli, or make a cup of lavender
tea.

Lavender flowers are sweet, spicy, and perfumed, making them
a bit distinguished and a bit of a flavor adventure. Have fun with it and see
where it goes!

Check out this recipe for Lavender
Roasted Potatoes.

Johnny Jump Up

Johnny Jump Ups are great because you can use them as colorful
ground cover for your garden, adding big patches of color, but then you can
pic a few for a salad or a garnish, and no matter  how many you pick, it
doesn’t seem to put a dent in the lush colorful garden. The flowers have a
subtle mint flavor great for salads, pastas, fruit dishes and drinks.

There Are Many Others

There are a lot of edible flowers hiding in your garden or on your
local hillside, including chamomile, lemon verbena, pansy, angelica, violet,
and much more. If you want to explore adding flowers to your meals or as a
tea or beverage, be sure you only use flowers from your own garden, from the
Farmers Market, or another trusted source. If you use commercially raised
edible flowers, be sure they have been raised for food purposes. Flowers at
your florist or the wholesale flower mart are very likely to be contaminated
with pesticides and other toxins, that would overwhelm any nutrition the
flower has to offer, and do more damage to your body than
good.

You can also explore the herbal benefits of flowers by contacting
a good herbalist in your area. Herbalism is a different approach to
nourishing your body, that makes a great adjunct to basic food nutrition, and
if you see the need, you can obtain herbal supplements from flowers in a much
more concentrated dose than you can from the flower itself. Be sure to always
contact a licensed herbalist or use a high quality herbal supplement company
when taking herbs. An herbalist or professional who dispenses herbal
supplements can test your body to make sure the herbs you are taking are
appropriate for your body’s individual needs.

If you are interested in incorporating more flowers, plants and
herbs into your routine, consider an appointment with me, where I can
help you assess your best
nutritional approach
for a healthy, happy, delicious lifestyle.
 Make
an appointment
 for a complimentary phone consultation to get
the ball rolling. I look forward to speaking with you soon!

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