Eat the Pansies: How to Elevate Garden-to-Table Meals with Edible Flowers

Who doesn’t love a burst of sunshiny flowers in the garden, especially when they both feed pollinators and support the gardener’s immune system? Used traditionally as a medicinal herb, the edible ray florets of calendula (which look like yellow or orange petals) burst with antioxidant compounds. Known as the “poor man’s saffron,” calendula provides warm flavor and bright color at a fraction of the price of saffron. Use it speckled in quiche, sprinkled in a frittata, or added to salads. For beautiful, easy-to-grow blooms, try Kablouna Mix calendula. Compact, mounding growth sports delightful anemone-type flowers in a soft cream hue with vibrant orange tips that look lovely both in the garden and on the plate.

2. Nasturtium

If you want maximum value in an edible flower, you’ll love growing nasturtium. Not only are the flowers gorgeous, but every part of the plant is edible: flowers, leaves, stems, and even the young seed pods, which are often pickled to make “poor man’s capers.” (Poor man’s saffron, poor man’s capers…there’s a theme here about the value of edible flowers!) While the flowers sport aromatic and floral flavors with a bit of spiciness, the leaves and stems bring the heat to dishes, similar to radishes. For vibrant colors and peppery flavor, try Arizona Mix nasturtium. Mixed colors include orange, red, and yellow flowers. Easy to grow, this highly ornamental plant produces abundant blooms and leaves, perfect for your favorite recipes.

If you’re looking to add an aesthetically pleasing splash to your cakes, cookies, or cocktails, consider adding pansies to your list of favorite edible flowers. Not only are these cuties adorable in your favorite cuisine, but pansies provide pretty blooms during cooler days, when many other flowers are just emerging in spring—or winding down for the season in fall. With charming faces and a mild flavor, pansies make a perfectly pretty addition to salads, desserts, and garnishing charcuterie boards. Freeze the flowers in ice cube trays to jazz up a basic glass of lemonade or press the blooms into soft cheese for a uniquely lovely appetizer. And sugared pansies make desserts look—and taste—extra-fancy.

For a variety that looks lovely in hanging baskets and containers, try Top Wave™ Marina Pansy. With the largest flowers of any spreading pansy series, these low-maintenance, vigorous, and long-lasting bi-colored blue and white blooms look gorgeous in the garden—and in your recipes.

4. Squash Blossoms

If you find yourself overwhelmed with zucchini each summer, sneaking excess onto the neighbor’s porch, it may be time to cull the harvest a tad—and savor squash blossoms in your summer dinners. A classic Italian delicacy, fiori di zucca fritti involves filling fresh squash blossoms with cheese—then frying them into a delicious, decadent treat. But because of their neutral flavor, squash blossoms are a highly versatile edible flower. Slice the flowers and mix them in frittatas or omelets, top risotto, add to quesadillas, or use raw in salads.

Just make sure to know the difference between male and female flowers so you don’t accidentally deplete your entire squash harvest. (Hint: female flowers produce squash, and you’ll find a fleshy ovary behind the flower where it attaches to the vine. Make sure to leave a few male flowers as well, so the pollinators can do their job and make baby squash.)

For a high-yielding, spineless zucchini variety, add Noche to your garden. The plant produces dark green, easy-to-harvest zucchini due to its open habit. Plus, Noche resists Watermelon Mosaic Virus and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus, helping keep the plant healthy and productive over the long term.

Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds aren’t alone in their love of bee balm. A beauty in the landscape, these edible flowers add a perfect pop of color and flavor in the kitchen, too. Because bee balm (Monarda) is a member of the mint family, you’ll note a minty flavor when you enjoy these edible flowers in your favorite treats. Add bee balm to salads, brew into tea, mix into compound butter, garnish savory dishes, and decorate desserts.

For a cultivar that tastes great and looks lovely, try Red Velvet Bee Balm. Because it’s taller than many varieties, it’s an excellent plant for filling the middle of borders. Red Velvet produces large, cherry-red flowers. USDA Zones 4-8. Or Jacob Cline Bee Balm,  which earned its historical nickname, Oswego tea, from the Oswego Nation, who used the herb for fragrant teas long before early botanists documented it. The flavor is a refreshing combination of citrus and mint, making it a perfect edible addition to the garden. This variety is a top-tier red bee balm, boasting large, crimson flower crowns and an early bloom time starting in June. USDA Zones 4-9.

6. Dianthus

With a hint of peppery flavor, dianthus not only adds prettiness to your recipes, but they also punch up garden-to-table goodies with nutmeg and clove notes. Add these beautiful blooms to wine. Create a syrup with them for cocktails. Or pour the syrup over plain vanilla ice cream to create an inspired dessert.

For a gorgeous variety that looks lovely in bouquets as well as on the plate, try Bananaberry Fizz dianthus. A blend of magenta and yellow double flowers, the plants reach a height of 24 inches. One of the few scented varieties, it’s ideal for creating a nectar-rich haven of fragrant flowers for bees and butterflies. USDA Zones 6-9.

From sweet treats to savory dishes, lavender creates a unique and aromatic twist to your favorite recipes. The delicate floral notes pair beautifully with a variety of ingredients, adding sophisticated elegance to your meals and treats. Line a path with this gorgeous, highly aromatic herb and enjoy its sweet scent as you brush by it. Find more recipes for Cooking with Lavender, like a lavender simple syrup.

The pollinators will adore lavender, too. With a compact, dense habit and notable durability for sun, heat, and humidity, as well as cold tolerance, Sensational!™ Lavender outshines many traditional lavender varieties. Silvery foliage is topped by large, dense purple flower spikes, perfect for harvesting the buds to use in your favorite culinary adventures. USDA Zones 5-9.

8. Daylilies

If you’re feeling adventurous, why not add a new ingredient to your culinary lineup? Not only are daylilies gorgeous, low-maintenance landscape plants, but the entire plant—from tubers to shoots to buds and blooms—is edible. Now, you’re probably thinking, “Why would I eat daylily tubers when I love the look of the flowers in the garden?” And you’re right. But if you only harvest a portion of the tuber and replant the remaining segment, you’ll enjoy an interesting ingredient in your recipes, while the flowers will keep growing for years.

But all portions of daylilies make excellent additions to your meal plans. Harvest young shoots for stir-fries and pasta. Pluck buds to steam, boil, or stir-fry. The flower buds taste like a cross between asparagus and green peas, perfect for sauteing with garlic and butter. Buds also taste great pickled. Boil the tubers like potatoes. Add fresh petals to salads. The versatility of daylilies creates interesting, beautiful dishes. For a gorgeous addition to your garden and recipes, look for the Skye™ Series. With colors ranging from yellow to pink to orange, these reblooming daylilies add drama to the landscape, while tasting delicious in your culinary creations. USDA Zones 4-11.

If you’re enamored with edible flowers, branch out! Stroll through your herb garden and harvest blooms from chamomile, chives, dill, oregano, sage, thyme, rosemary, and more—these blooms also make delicious additions to your favorite recipes.