It has been posited that April showers bring May flowers. Here in the tropics, however, we often experience flowers year-round. Spring does herald a new burst of life in our gardens, even in Hawaii, as the days get longer and warmer. Coupled with the abundance of rain we’ve had in the last few months, May could produce a bounteous floral display.
In keeping with my propensity to encourage growing food, I’d like to suggest some lovely flowers to add to your garden that you can also eat. Among my favorites is the small-faced pansy, Johnny jump up (Viola tricolor). This viola with a yellow and purple “face” has a mild wintergreen flavor that makes a lively addition to a salad or a dessert and can be frozen into fun ice cubes.
Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are easy to grow and can add several bright colors to your garden, your salads and your plate as a garnish. The peppery flavor in their flowers and leaves is similar to watercress. The plants will spread and give you a nice ground cover with lots of edible parts. The buds can be pickled to taste like capers and the larger blossoms can be stuffed. Recipes for stuffing nasturtium flowers as well as daylily (Hemerocallis genus plants) or squash blossoms (from the Cucurbita family) abound on the internet. All are good as fritters or as an addition to any stir fry dish.
If you like anise or licorice flavor, the purple spikes of anise hyssop (Agastache Foeniculum) flowers add flavor and beauty to salads as well as your garden. The leaves of this herb can also be used to make tea.
The low growing fuzzy leafed borage (Borago officinalis) plant produces attractive sky-blue flowers that have a cool, light cucumber flavor. They are great added to fruit or green salads and can enhance lemonade, gin drinks or put afloat in any beverage frozen into ice cubes.
For a touch of red to a salad or atop steamed veggies, try growing scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus). Be sure to leave a few of the bright red flowers on the vine so that you can harvest some beans. This vine does best with a good support to grow on. It will add color to a fence, arbor or teepee frame anywhere in your landscape.
If you want more red edible flowers grow a rose (Rosa) bush. Though red ones often have deeper flavor, rose petals of any color can serve as a tasty addition to salads or confections.
Calendula flowers (Calendula officinalis) have medicinal and cultural, as well as edible qualities. The flowers are used to make salves and the petals can be used in dyeing. Members of the Asteraceae family, along with marigolds, calendula flowers have a wide range of flavors from tangy to peppery depending on the variety. Their deep yellow many-petaled flowers grow in clusters of stems up to two feet tall. The petals can add flavor as well as a yellow tint to rice, soup and egg dishes.
Dianthus is a large genus that includes the carnation. Carnation flower petals have been used for centuries in perfumes as well as liqueurs like French Chartreuse. The petals of most of the species in the genus can be sprinkled on savory as well as sweet dishes or steeped in wine. The smaller Sweet William cultivar “Wee Willie” has a similar clove-like flavor and can be used whole in salads or to decorate cakes.
Lavender flowers (Lavandula) also have a long history of perfume use. And, they are tasty. Their sweet floral flavor and lavender color can enhance a custard or flan as well as muffins or cakes. Putting a lavender spike in champagne or white wine adds a bit of flavor as well as a lovely fragrance. Lavender is a sun loving plant that works well in a xeriscape garden.
If you are growing a lilikoi vine (Passiflora edulis), consider snipping a few blossoms and leaves to make a relaxing tea to drink or to bathe in. The vine will climb any nearby support and offer beautiful flowers and delicious fruit nearly year-round.
The herb, society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) is a wonderful edging plant with ever-blooming stalks of light purple flowers surrounded by clusters of dark green leaves. Both the flowers and the leaves are edible, adding a garlicky chive flavor to any dish.
Don’t forget to include some marigolds in your edible flower garden. All varieties are edible but some taste better than others. The petals of both the lemon gem (Tagetes patula) and tangerine gem have a pleasant citrus flavor.
Like most flowers, these edible varieties prefer a good dose of sunshine daily and grow best in soil that drains well. Add a layer of mulch to maintain soil moisture and temperature and to control weed growth.
Keeping the plants healthy should keep pests at bay. Mixing the species can also discourage pests who might prefer chewing on a long row of their favorite food rather than a few here and there. Water regularly and apply a small amount of fertilizer about every three or four months. If you plan to eat the flowers, use only organic fertilizers and pesticides. All of these flowers can be grown in containers if you have limited space.
The flavors these flowers provide can vary depending on the varieties you choose and the growing conditions you provide. Some flowers will be best used whole while others may have bitter bases and only the petals should be used. Taste test to see what you prefer.
The best time to harvest your edible flowers is early in the morning, when the air is still cool and before the sun hits the plants. Choose young fully open flowers for best flavor. While picking, you might also want to dead head the plants so they don’t go into seed production. Spread your flower harvest out on a towel until fully dry then refrigerate them until you want to use them
Get started growing some edible flowers and enjoy a delicious spring.
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant living part time in Kailua-Kona.
