Spring Flowers for Edible Gardens
Average time to read: 2 minutesElevate your spring garden with the unique beauty and practicality of edible flowers. We all love springtime classics like tulips and daffodils, but are you familiar with spring flowers that are both beautiful and delicious?
Incorporating edible spring flowers into my Cottage Corner has rewarded me with earlier harvests and added elegance to my table. Let’s explore a few of my favourites.
Chamomile Flowers
Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is one of the few edible perennials that can be overwintered in the right pots, making it perfect for both in-ground and container gardens. While common chamomile typically comes into full-bloom in mid-to-late summer, established Roman chamomile plants begin flowering in late spring.
Harvest the blossoms promptly as they open. Dry and store them to enjoy fragrant, soothing chamomile tea all year long. Reserve a few fresh blossoms for chamomile-infused honey; an unexpectedly refined hostess gift.
Pea Flowers
Peas, being frost-hardy, are among the first crops we sow outdoors in the spring. Their bright and delicate little flowers are not only some of the first blossoms we see in the vegetable garden, they’re also some of the yummiest.
With flavour reminiscent of peas themselves, these edible flowers add springtime charm to fresh salads long before the pods are ready for harvest.
Radish Flowers
Sown early in spring, radishes are a delight for the impatient gardener, with some varieties ready to harvest in a mere 21 days. And if you can resist harvesting them all at once, you'll be rewarded with delicate, purple blossoms sprouting from the radishes left behind.
These beautiful flowers carry the radish's signature spicy flavour and add a touch of elegance to crudités. A drizzle of good olive oil and fleur de sel transforms this simple dish into a surprisingly sophisticated apéro.
Strawberry Flowers
The earliest strawberry flowers are often picked and discarded to encourage the plant into more abundant strawberry production. But the simple strawberry flower need not go to waste! Use them to decorate honey cake, transforming it from humble spring staple into a refined, salt-of-the-earth indulgence.
If you have enough, strawberry flowers can also be made into a fine syrup with a beautiful pink tint, occurring naturally when the flowers are processed this way. Mix it into cocktails for a happy hour your friends won’t soon forget.
I hope you’ve found some value in this post. Edible gardening is my passion and it’s my sincere joy to share it. Perhaps you’ve even been inspired to incorporate edible spring flowers into your garden and your table this season. That would make me very happy indeed.
Wishing you a happy spring,
Bridgette
Will you try edible spring flowers this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below :)
***