Get creative with edible flowers and herbs

By Lucia Haddad

OSU Ext. master gardener volunteer

Do you love the bright color of flowers, but also want to include edibles in your landscape?

Good news – you can have both by incorporating edible flowers and herbs. Just a few edible blossoms in a salad or as a garnish make even everyday food seem a gourmet dish.

A few rules to keep in mind:

Identify flowers and confirm they are not poisonous. Don’t make any assumptions.

Consume only flowers that have been grown without pesticides, or only with pesticides for edible crops, and without the application of animal manure in the past four months.

Do not consume florist or garden center flowers unless they are labeled as edible.

Introduce slowly, especially if allergies or hay fever are an issue.

To get the best results, harvest flowers in the morning at peak bloom. Gently brush away any debris and rinse carefully. Let dry on a paper towel, never use a salad spinner. Remove the bitter white base of the petals from flowers such as chrysanthemums, dianthus and roses.

Then let your creativity blossom. Use as garnishes, add to salads, or mince and add to cheese spreads or butters.

If you want to save your blossoms, freeze them in ice cubes and add to summer drinks. Or add to vinegar for marinades and salad dressings. Experiment with applying a sugar mixture to “candy” them and use as a decoration on cupcakes.

You probably already have many edible flowers and herbs growing in your garden. Dried lavender blossoms can be steeped with tea or lemonade to add a refreshing touch to drinks. They also make a nice addition to scones, biscuits or lemon shortbread.

Rose petals can garnish ice creams, float in punches, or be used in syrups and jellies. Daylilies are frequently used in soups and Chinese dishes. Nasturtiums have a spicy peppery taste and make a striking addition to salads or as a garnish on appetizers. Stuff squash blossoms with cheese for a novel main dish. Violets, sunflowers, tulips, scented geraniums … the list is long. For ideas and a comprehensive list of edible flowers, visit go.osu.edu/edibles.

Try this Lavender Arnold Palmer from your garden.

Lavender Lemonade

3 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

º cup dried lavender buds

4 cups fresh lemon juice (from 16 to 20 lemons)

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Add lavender. Steep for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain lavender. Let sugar mixture cool, then stir in lemon juice. Pour over ice or store in refrigerator.

Cold Brew Ice Tea

8 tea bags

64 ounces cold water.

Put tea bags in water. Place in refrigerator. Steep for a minimum of 6 hours to a maximum of 12 hours. Remove tea bags. (May be sweetened with a simple syrup if needed.)

Assemble Arnold Palmer by mixing lemonade and ice tea in a gallon pitcher or by the glass by pouring in half a glass of lemonade and half a glass of ice tea and stirring.

From Anna Weisend, The Western Reserve School of Cooking, used with permission.