While the garden curtain closes on hot season hibiscus and jalapenos, the cast of cold tolerant edible fall flowers is ready to step into the sunlight.
Edible Fall Flower Debut
Edible flowers are best started from seed for a number of reasons. First, flowering plants obtained from garden centers and nurseries may have been subjected to sprays directly or indirectly. Second, most edible flowers are readily available in seed packets and easy to grow. Third, seed packets are less expensive than transplants and can be a one-time purchase if some plants are allowed to go to seed.
Edible flower seeds are available from the following companies:
- Johnny’s Selected Seed
- Kitazawa Seed
- Nichol’s Garden Nursery
- Renee’s Garden
- Seeds of Change
- Territorial Seeds
- Thompson and Morgan
Cast of Edible Fall Flowers
Edible flowers add color and zest in the garden and at your table. In developing an edible fall flower garden, consider the following cold-hardy candidates:
Calendulas, Calendula officinalis, aka pot marigold, English marigold and scotch marigold are eight to twenty-four inches tall and have yellow, gold or orange two to three inch wide daisy like flowers. Calendulas make great cutting flowers too.
The flower has been referred to as poor man’s saffron because dried calendula petals can be used to make ersatz “saffron rice.” Petals add color and tangy taste to salads, soufflés, soups, omelets, butters, and rice dishes.
Chrysanthemums, Chrysanthemum spp, are colorful harbingers of harvest time. They come in a wide variety of flower sizes and flavors. Petals are used in salads, tea, soups, stews and stir-fries. Chrysanthemums garnish festive foods for Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Marigolds, Tagetes erecta and T. tenuifolia, are well known for their sunburst garden colors and for use as a companion plant. Few know marigolds as a seasoning. Whereas some marigold varieties are too bitter to flavor food, the citrus flavor of ‘Lemon Gem,’ ‘Tangerine Gem,’ and ‘Lulu’ petals are used sparingly as a garnish and in salads. Yellow ‘Climax’ and white ‘Snowbird’ add a milder citrus accent to food.
Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus, come with edible red, orange or yellow flowers and edible round leaves. Both have a peppery watercress flavor for pizza, salads, soups, tea sandwiches, and butters. Nasturtium blossoms are containers for cold salads like chicken, egg, ham, and tuna as well as for spreads like cheese, guacamole, and hummus.
Favored varieties for eating include ‘Alaska,’ ‘Dwarf Jewel,’ ‘Empress of India,’ and
‘Whirlybird.’
Pansies, Viola wittrockiana, and their miniature close kin violas, V. tricolor and V. cornuta, Johnny Jump-Up, are the most expressive edibles with sad, smiling, frowning, winking and angry faces. These plants thrive at night temperatures below 65°F. Picking blossoms keeps them growing throughout fall and winter in the southern U.S.
Full flower faces decorate desserts like cakes and sorbets. In salads pansies have a lettuce taste. Violas are candied like their spring blooming cousin violets.
Pinks, Dianthus caryophyllus and D. plumarius, with fringed, notched, or “pinked” petal edges come in vivid reds, pink, rose, and white and have a clove-like taste. Dianthus petals spice-up mesclun greens and fruit salads. Chopped petals are used to garnish cakes and soups and blended into butter.
Lacy dainty pinks can be encouraged to bloom continuously by harvesting or deadheading.
Harvesting Edible Flowers
For best flavor pick flowers at their peak of bloom.
After the dew has dried in early morning is the best time to harvest edible flowers. Pick carefully so as not to bruise flower tissues.
If flowers are not used immediately, store them in the refrigerator in a plastic bag between a damp paper towel. Refresh flowers by dipping in ice water.
If using flowers immediately, shake flowers to remove any insects and rinse gently in cool water. Pat dry with paper towel.
Precautions When Serving Flowers
When introducing edible flowers to family and guests, don’t be a petal pusher. Proceed slowly as one would with the introduction of any new food. Most folks don’t think twice about eating broccoli or cauliflower but seeing garden flowers in the food instead of in a vase may take getting used to.
Scatter petals sparingly over food or provide canapés or samplers of petals to give diners nibbles.
When preparing flowers, remove bitter flower centers and reproductive parts, which contain pollen, an allergen for many. People with allergies can be sensitive to edible flowers.
Children should be taught that not all flowers are edible. They should be told why the flowers grown in your edible fall flower garden are safe to eat and why the same species in someone else’s garden may not be.
Edible fall flowers are a feast for the eyes and the palate.
Sources
- Armitage, Alan M. Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-Hardy Perennials. Portland: Timber Press, 1991.
- Belsinger, Susan. Flowers in the Kitchen. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1991.
- Creasy, Rosalind. Cooking From the Garden. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1988.
- MacNicol, Mary. Flower Cookery. New York: Collier Books, 1972.
Arlene Marturano - Arlene Marturano, an educator, consultant, master gardener, and writer advocates gardens as a context and gardening as a tool for ...
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