Classic edible flowers
Many of the flowers you may already be growing can be used in meals. Here, we share some of the most popular and how to best use them
▶ Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus)
Sunflowers have a wonderful nutty flavour. They make up a huge part of our floral salad and in everyday dishes we use them as we would any salad leafy green. Pull petals away from the flowerheads you want to eat and cut back the flowering stems throughout the season to encourage them to keep producing blooms. This is an annual plant that we grow year on year, by collecting and saving their seeds – although we find the birds always beat us to them, which is no bad thing. ‘Autumn Beauty’ is our favourite mix for a wide range of colours. Best for: salads
▶ Dahlias (various)
People are always surprised to find out that dahlias are edible. We grow ours from seed to ensure they are free from chemicals and safe for consumption. Grown this way, they flower prolifically from the first year, producing giant tubers that can then be stored overwinter and divided up
– a cost-effective way to start your own edible dahlia patch. We love the ‘Pom Pom’ varieties for their small petals, which are perfect for garnishing cakes, and Coltness Hybrids and ‘Showpiece Double Mix’, which have large petals that are great in salads. Best for: cake decoration, salads
◀ Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus)
Snapdragons are ideal for savoury dishes as their flowers have a sharpness akin to chicory. Use them in place of bitter leaves to make a well-balanced salad and boost the colour palette – placed on the side of drinks their open mouth-like structure provides visual flare. Pick off flowers individually and cut back the stems hard once they have all have been picked. We grow them as short-lived perennials, getting two seasons out of them before changing the plants. Best for: drinks, salads
◀ Garlic flowers (Allium moly)
Full of flavour, these bright-yellow flowers set the palate alight with soft and sweet garlicky flavours. They’re excellent for garnishing dishes, dressing sauces or dips and even just working into a dish. We add them to pasta salad dishes as they give the sort of garlic punch that you’d expect from garlic oil. Garlic flowers are easy to grow as they are hardy bulbs that over time will produce clumps that you can lift and divide. We pull off the flowers from the outside of the flowering head to encourage the plant to produce more buds until their season is over in midsummer. Best for: garnishes, oils, salads
▶ Gladioli ‘Velvet Eyes’
Light in flavour like a lettuce leaf, gladioli come in such a wide range of colours that’ll liven up an array of dishes. We use them like courgette flowers, stuffing them with delicious fillings, coating them in a light tempura batter and then popping them in a fryer. They also make a wonderful salad addition, as their large petals give a good crisp texture that adds a slight sweetness, and they’re an excellent showy flower for decorating cakes. Our corms stay in the ground year-round as we’ve found them very hardy even in our wet, clay soil. We lift them every few years just to space out the clumps of corms. Ensure you only use the petals as other parts of the flower can be toxic. Best for: cake decoration, salads, tempuras