One up side of being home bound for a while is there will be a little more time to spend in the garden. After a little thought, I realized a significant number of my plants have edible flowers, not just fruit, and the flowers can be added to soups and salads. There are many more edible flowers than just what I jotted down on my list below, but these are all the ones I personally grow.

• Acca sellowiana/ Feijoa / Pineapple Guava – This is in my opinion, the most delicious edible flower with an almost lightly candy flavor.
• Borage (Borago officinalis) is really easy to propagate and gently self sows in my yard. The flowers taste a bit like cucumber.
• Calendula (Calendula officinalis) – another bitter flavored flower
• Camomile ( Matricaria recutita)
• Cilantro Flowers  (Matricaria recutita)
• Chive flower – mildly onion like
• Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus) – These taste kind of like clove
• Fuchsia Bolivana and Fuchsia hybrid have both edible flowers and berries. They berries are slightly sweet when they fall off in my hand easily, and have a peppery finish. The petals taste mild.
• Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) – The tortoise gets the lion share of hollyhock. It is one of her favorites, and she eats the entire plant.
• Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is mildly spicy.
• Pansy and Viola (Viola X wittrockiana) – Tastes grassy
• Roses (Rosa rugosa)
• Squash Blossoms (Curcubita pepo)

There are also weeds around the backyard, eaten by the chickens and tortoise. The main ones are Plantain, Dandelion, Mallow, Clover, dicondra, and Sow Thistle. There are many more in the front yard that go to waste.

When I eat the flowers, they are only from plants that grew in my yard from seeds or have been in the garden long enough no longer have any pesticide residue from the nursery of origin. If you have never eaten flowers, but decide to because of something you read here or elsewhere on the internet, please take the time to double check the plant identity and personally verify it is an edible. Colorado State University Extension has an large edible flower list and is a good place to start. There is also a separate list at this link with some of the more common toxic flowers.

Happy Gardening!