- Author: Sharon Lovejoy, UC Master Food Preserver of San Luis Obispo County
- Editor: Dayna Ravalin
- Editor: Katherine Soule
Walk into my kitchen and you'll smell the pungent scents of savory edible flowers like dill, fennel, society garlic, nasturtium, sage, rosemary, and oregano drying on a tray screen. Beside them sits an array of sweet edible flowers; violas, dianthus, roses, the brilliant blue stars of borage, lemon verbena, hollyhocks, lavender, and roselle, a hibiscus that makes glorious, red tea.
For the past few decades I have cooked and created with the edible flowers flourishing in my garden, but gardener-chefs beware, just because they're flowers doesn't mean they're all edible! Check the long list put out by North Carolina State Extension before you even take a nibble of one. I use only those that I gather in my garden. If you don't have edible flowers in your garden and would like to try them as a food ingredient, North Carolina State Extension recommends “flowers purchased from a florist, garden center or nursery should be specifically labeled as edible; otherwise, they may have been treated with ornamental pesticides that are unsafe for use on food crops.”
Cooking with flowers isn't anything new. Some herbal and garden books in my library are nearly 200 years old, and they include “receipts” for using flowers in everything from medicine to candy. I've included flowers in the making of homemade ice cream, custards, rice dishes, as toppings on cakes, in drinks, salads, cheeses, frozen in ice cubes, and so much more. In fact, my husband once told me he was afraid to linger in our kitchen for fear I would sprinkle him with my floral concoctions!
In the middle of a winter storm, reach into your cupboard and pull out some of your colorful, tasty, bits of summer sunshine to top a salad or a soup. You'll be glad you took the time to preserve them.
Some Helpful Hints:
Collect your flowers early in the morning, rinse with cool water, spread them out on a towel and pat them dry.
If you're using flowers the day they're picked, just let them float in a shallow saucer or ice cube tray of water. They'll stay plump and fresh till you need them.
To dry the flowers, spread them onto a parchment paper lined tray or screen out of direct sunlight. When thoroughly dry (they'll feel like tissue paper), store them in a labeled tin or a jar in a cool, dark area.
- Author: Kim Schwind
Edible flowers can be found in many backyard landscapes and herb gardens. Many annuals and perennials produce flowers with culinary potential. Roses (rosa spp.), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), and apple blossoms are well-known perennials with edible flowers. Borage (Borago officinalis), calendula (Calendula officinalis), garden sage (Salvia officinalis), scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus), nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), and pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are perhaps the best-known annuals that can be used in this way.
Edible flowers have been used in cooking for thousands of years. During the Victorian era candied flowers were used in salads, sweets and pastries. Rose water and orange flower water are still being used daily in Middle Eastern and South Asian homes
We often use edible flowers today without even thinking about it: saffron strands are the dried stamens of crocuses (Carthamus tincorius), lavender is the secret to Herbs de Provence and the flowers of the hops plant are crucial to the production of many kinds of beer.
Take a walk through your backyard garden to inventory what you might be able to use in the kitchen. If you are lacking appropriate flowers, spring is a good time to plant annual flower seeds to create an edible flower garden.
Flower seeds are widely available online or in your local nursery. They are easy to start by scattering them into the landscape or starting them early in small pots indoors near a sunny window. Follow the directions on the seed packet. For a sunny spot in your garden you might opt for calendula, borage, sage, pansies or squash/pumpkin blossoms (Cucurbita spp.). Nasturtium (Tropseolum majus) is a shade-loving plant that needs room to wander.
If you have space for a few perennials, lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) work well for our region and are very drought tolerant and deer resistant.
Some flowers have a hint of flavor, so you may want to taste them before adding them to a dish to make sure they are appropriate and gauge the amount to use. Nasturtium has a slight peppery taste. Calendula has a saffron flavor. Sage flowers are both sweet and savory. Borage has a slight cucumber flavor. Some flowers (like orange blossoms) can be bitter.
Using Edible Flowers
You can add flower petals or whole flowers like nasturtium, borage, or pansies to a salad of spring greens, or use them as a garnish.
Flower butters are an easy way to incorporate flowers into a meal. Add chopped flower petals to softened butter, then refrigerate before using on sweet or savory dishes. Butter mixed with chive blossoms or sage blossoms is good on top of vegetables, fish or grilled chicken. Rose petal butter can be a nice addition to pancakes or biscuits.
Making candied flowers is an easy way to decorate cookies and cakes. Beat an egg white and use a small brush to paint the petals of the flowers you are using. Pansies work well for this. Once the flower is coated with the egg wash, sprinkle very fine granulated sugar over the flower. Let air dry for a couple of days before using to top a dessert.
Lavender flowers and rose petals can be used to infuse sugar. Chop dried lavender flowers or dried rose petals and place them in a small container of granulated sugar. Let the mixture sit for two to three weeks. You can either strain out the flowers or leave them in. The flavored sugar is beautiful sprinkled over freshly baked sugar cookies or sweet breads.
The possibilities are endless: there are many books on this subject and plenty of recipes available online to help you incorporate edible flowers into everyday meals. Consider how festive and colorful your meals might be with the addition of some beautiful flowers straight from the garden.
Master Gardener Spring Workshop Series begins on February 12th
This series of 12 workshops includes seven new topics: Firewise Landscaping (a four-part workshop); Gardening with Chickens; Companion Planting; How to Grow and Use Herbs and Microgreens; Raised Bed Cover (Hoop House) Opportunities; What your Weeds are Telling You & Weed Identification; and Vegetable Seed Starting. For the full list of workshops, and to register, go to ucanr.edu/p/56426.
To learn more about UC Butte County Master Gardeners and their upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, call our Hotline at (530) 538-7201 or email mgbutte@ucanr.edu.
By T. Eric Nightingale, U.C. Master Gardener of Napa County
Spring is around the corner, ready to bring new opportunities to spend time in our gardens. While many of us find this thought exhilarating, some prefer to spend their time in other ways.
A large proportion of these garden avoiders are young people who view gardening as little more than a chore. Engaging children in activities that do not involve a video screen can be challenging, and no doubt many parents ask themselves whether it is worth the effort.
The benefits of gardening have been well espoused in relation to adults; the benefits to children may seem less straightforward. Perhaps the most obvious is exercise, an undeniable requirement for the young. Gardening is also a way to connect children to the natural world, a connection that brings with it a respect for the environment and our dependence on it.
Children are also naturally curious. he limitless avenues of investigation into the biology, chemistry and general function of a garden can greatly increase one's understanding of how the world works.
The act of growing food for oneself and family is an invaluable experience. Not only can this endeavor impart an appreciation for healthy food, but it can be extremely empowering. Food is one of the few true necessities in life, and children can benefit from knowing that they can be at least somewhat self-sufficient in that realm.
But how do adults make gardening fun and interesting to youngsters? As the grown-up, your first task is to find out what grows well (and quickly) in your climate and yard. A child will lose interest if plants grow too slowly or, even worse, never germinate at all.
In Napa Valley, March is a great time to plant peas and carrots, which will sprout quickly and mature in May. These vegetables are also fun to harvest and can be eaten without even cooking, adding to the excitement.
Some plants are simply more fun to grow than others. People of all ages appreciate sunflowers. The seeds are easily sown, and many varieties reach impressive heights. Birds love to eat the new seeds growing on the blooms, adding an additional chance to observe nature.
Pumpkins are another visually impressive option, growing from small seedlings to giant gourds. Some varieties are suitable for carving into jack o'lanterns; check the description on the seed packet.
Edible flowers are also sure to please young people. Pansies and violas make attractive toppings for salads or desserts, but also consider the tasty blossoms of nasturtium and borage. Just be sure that youngsters understand that only some plants, and some parts of plants, are safe to eat.
A cover crop is another option that teaches many garden lessons. Brassicas such as mustard and legumes like fava beans are inexpensive to sow and need little encouragement to grow.
Small children need help measuring to make rows and holes for sowing. They benefit from some homemade tools customized for the job. A string with knots at relevant lengths can help with spacing, and a popsicle stick with a line on it will aid in judging planting depth
The garden also holds some important lessons for older children. Pollinator decline and soil health are both important current issues that can be taught in the home garden. I have yet to meet a teenager who is uninterested in insect metamorphosis, one of the most undeniably unsettling things to witness. The interdependence of organisms within the soil ecosystem is an analog for nature as a whole, and the lessons come with an excuse to get dirty.
If you have a group of children you hope to inspire, or a classroom that needs a garden, there are resources available to you. For the past five years, a group of Napa County Master Gardeners has been dedicated to getting kids excited about plants and gardening. Known as The School Garden Task Force, this group has been helping educators around the county find the horticultural resources they need. The team was also a founding partner of the Napa Valley School Garden Network, a group of citizens who share a mission of starting a garden at every school in Napa (www.nvusd.org/nvsgn).
There are myriad resources online related to gardening with children. I have found projects of all levels of involvement and complexity.
The most important thing is, of course, to get kids into the garden. Once there, they will surely find something intriguing.
Workshop: UC Master Gardeners of Napa County will hold a workshop on “Growing Tomatoes” on Saturday, April 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Join our experienced tomato growers for tips and tricks on cultivating perfect homegrown tomatoes. Learn the latest research on tomato cultivation and care and discover new and heritage tomato varieties. You'll get all the information you need to grow delicious and beautiful tomatoes in your own large or small garden or in containers. Growing America's favorite garden fruit is not only fun and easy, but also the best way to acquire healthy food for you and your family. Online registration (credit card only); Mail-in/Walk-in registration (check only or drop off cash payment).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County (http:/napamg.ucanr.edu) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
What do the blue chicory flowers blooming in meadows and vineyards, the pansies in your window box and the honey-scented blossoms on your lemon tree have in common? You can eat them.
A stroll around your winter garden, nearby vineyard or neighborhood might reveal surprising edible flowers to cheer, nourish, flavor and decorate winter plates.
But just because blossoms are pretty does not mean you can eat them. Some flowers are poisonous. Identify any flowers you plan to eat or serve and make sure no sprays or chemicals have been used on them.
By the time you read this, nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) may be gone, but in early December the blossoms in navel-orange, taxi-yellow and vermillion blossoms are still flourishing at the edges of my garden. The honey-tinged heat and color of nasturtium blossoms provide contrast in citrus salads and in salads with deep-green arugula or miners' lettuce. Both the petals and the leaves have a peppery flavor, making a milder garnish for guests who don't like spice.
Calendulas (Calendula officinalis) look like bright, full daisies in a palette of pale yellow, apricot and bright orange. They grow through most of our Napa Valley winters. Calendula is an annual and generously self-sows every year, so leave a flower or two to go to seed. After the first rains, expanding circles of little calendula seedlings are already greening up the areas in my garden where calendulas grew last year. In a few months, their neon-orange flowers will be the first to bloom in profusion as winter turns to spring.
Calendula petals may be sprinkled in salads, ice cream, soups or risotto. If you have several plants to choose from, taste to see which you prefer.
All members of the viola family are edible and bloom bravely through all but the iciest weather. Fresh-faced pansies, fragrant violets (Violata odorata) and blue and yellow Johnny-jump-ups don't just provide vivid color for garden beds and pots. They also contribute blossoms for confetti-colored butter logs to melt on biscuits. Or arrange them in two-dimensional bouquets to decorate special desserts.
With blue or white star-shaped blossoms, borage (Borago officinalis) can grow in shady spots. Its cucumber-flavored blossoms can be frozen in ice cubes or used to garnish salads or sorbet.
Herb blossoms are all edible, so consider using the delicate white flowers on lemon verbena and perky chives as well as peach, pear, plum and almond blossoms.
Always check to make sure flowers are edible. While you might think fragrant sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) blossoms should be edible, they are not. This kind of sweet pea is poisonous and should be eaten with your eyes only.
On the other hand, sugar snap peas, shelling peasand other edible peas have blossoms and shoots that can be safely consumed. Eating pea blossoms is for those who spurn delayed gratification and live for the moment, or for those who do not like to eat their peas. On the other hand, gardeners who hope to ultimately harvest peas will have to forgo all but the first blossoms.
Citrus blossoms are edible, but taste them to make sure you like the flavor. Some are bitter. As a general rule, the sweeter the fragrance, the sweeter the flavor. Use blossoms to infuse cream for ice cream or whipped cream or use to scent lemonade.
All types of dianthus are edible, including ‘Sweet William' blossoms, carnations and pinks. Ranging in color from pure white to almost black, dianthus blossoms give artistic cooks many beautiful colors to choose from. Taste the flowers and remove the bottom white part of the petal if it seems bitter. Steep in syrups or mix into butters. Frost cakes, then lay a stencil over the cake and sprinkle shredded flower petals to fill the outline.
Edible flowers can expand your kitchen choices. Check this site https://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm for a list of edible flowers. Tulips, begonias,chrysanthemums and gladiolas can make surprising contributions your meals. Learn which flowers are safe to eat and teach your children well.
Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Rose Pruning” on Saturday, January 7, from 10 a.m. to noon, at University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Certified rosarian Lynne Andresen and other Master Gardener rose enthusiasts will demonstrate and explain proper pruning techniques and review rose types, common rose disorders and routine maintenance. Online registration (credit card only); Mail-in registration (check only or drop off cash payment).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Some people may think of daylilies as ordinary garden plants without any special characteristics. Yet no other plant has blossoms that compare to the daylily in variety of color, form and size.
In addition, daylilies (Hemerocallis) are edible and nutritious. Their buds and blossoms have almost as much protein as spinach, more vitamin A than green beans and about as much vitamin C as orange juice.
Daylily colors include multiple shades of yellow, orange, red, wine, purple and peach. There are no pure white blooms, but there are near whites, such as ‘Ice Carnival,' a very pale yellow.
On some daylilies, all the flower segments are a single color; others are polychromes, with different flower parts in different colors. On some blooms, the edges are lighter or darker than the rest of the petal and may be ruffled. Some have a pronounced eye, with a darker or lighter area just above the throat of the bloom.
Daylilies also come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The normal daylily has three petals and three sepals. Double daylilies have up to six extra petals above or below the normal petals. There are circular and triangular daylilies. Some are spider-shaped with long, narrow petals; others have petals that curve and twist. Sizes range from miniatures with blooms under three inches to those with flowers that measure seven inches across or more.
In northern California, daylilies flower from late spring to fall. They bloom more prolifically in full sun, but they will still bloom in partial shade. Some varieties are early-season bloomers; others flower later. Some are repeat bloomers, flowering more than once during the season. Iin my garden, repeat bloomers include ‘Pardon Me' and ‘Panache.'
Although each flower lasts for only one day, many varieties produce multiple buds on each stem, or scape. Some are extended bloomers, with individual blossoms remaining open for 16 hours or more. My favorite extended bloomers are ‘Strawberry Candy' and ‘Custard Candy.' Most daylilies bloom during the day, but some are nocturnal, opening late in the afternoon and staying open through the next morning.
You can increase daylilies easily by dividing the clumps. First cut back the leaves to about eight inches in length. Dig up the whole clump and shake off the soil. Depending on the size of the clump, divide it with a sharp knife, spade or shovel. Remove the old portion of the roots to encourage new roots to form. Now the divisions are ready to plant.
Some daylilies have small plants, called proliferations, on the stems of the flowers. You can plant these in wet sand in a small pot. Keep them moist until the little plants develop roots, then re-plant in a larger pot or in the garden.
To plant a bare-root daylily in an existing bed, dig a hole larger than the root mass—at least 12 inches deep and 12 inches across. If the garden soil has not been amended, add about 20 percent compost to loosen the soil. Mound soil in the center of the hole until the top of the mound is just below ground level. Place the daylily on top of the mound and spread the roots. Fill the hole with dirt, covering the roots. Firm the soil and water thoroughly.
If the bare-root plant has been out of soil for several days, soak the roots in water for a few hours prior to planting. If you can't plant a bare-root daylily immediately, put it in a shady place with the roots in damp sand or peat moss.
If you have gophers in your garden, consider lining the planting hole with wire, especially if this is the only specimen you have in that variety. Alternatively, grow the daylily in a pot until the roots become established, then plant it in the garden.
There are growers who specialize in daylilies. Check out their websites for more information on available varieties. The American Hemerocallis Society lists display gardens on its website at www.daylilies.org. California has four display gardens, of which three are open to the public. I have visited the Amador Flower Farm in Plymouth been amazed by all the beautiful daylilies.
Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will hold a workshop on “Growing Olives” on Saturday, July 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at Big Dog Ranch, 1020 Congress Valley Road, Napa. Learn what varieties to plant, where to plant them and how to maximize fruit size and yield. Presenters will also discuss drought tolerance, irrigation, harvesting methods and managing olive pests.
On-line registration (credit card only) Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only)
Guided Tree Walk: Join U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County for a free guided tree walk through Napa's Fuller Park on Monday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There is no charge for the walk but registration is recommended as space is limited. Meet at the corner of Jefferson and Oak Streets. Online registration or call 707-253-4221. Trees to Know in Napa Valley will be available to purchase for $15 each. Cash or check payable to UC Regents. Sorry, we are unable to process credit cards.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.