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Spring Flower Picking: 5 Garden Flowers to Put on Your Menu

Whether combined with savoury dishes, desserts or cocktails, or served as condiments, edible flowers always make an impression on your plate and in your glass. Flowers are second to none when it comes to giving a touch of colour and freshness to a recipe. In your flower beds and vegetable gardens, welcome them with open arms this spring! Here are 5 varieties that you can enjoy during the entire length of the warm season—with 10 recipes to add to your menu as soon as possible!

1. Chive Flowers

From the same family as shallot, onion and leek, chive is an aromatic perennial that’s easy to care for. In your garden, it’ll act to repel harmful insects, while its pompom-shaped purple-pink flower attracts pollinating insects.

In the kitchen

Just like garlic scapes and other fine herb flowers (thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.), chive flowers are edible and their subtle taste is evocative of onion. Pick them when they’re well open, before they start drying up on the plant. Mix them with salt for an aromatic condiment, or pick the petals off to mix them with butter or use as a garnish.

Here are two recipes that use chive flowers:

2. Daylilies

Among the easiest perennial plants to grow, daylilies come in an impressive array of colours, shapes and height that’ll really give the wow factor to your garden all summer long. Also known as hemerocallis, from the Greek hemerokalles meaning “one-day beauty,” daylilies are so called because of their ephemeral, yet abundant flowering. Indeed, these flowers last only one day. They open in the morning and close at the end of the day, replaced by new ones the following day.

In the kitchen

Young shoots, as well as flower buds and the flowers themselves are all edible. For the flowers, we recommend removing the stamen and pistil because their bitter taste is too strong next to the delicate, slightly peppery flavour of the petals. Their crunchy texture is perfect for crudités, salads and desserts. You can also fry them, pan-fry them or serve them as fritters.

Try daylilies with these recipes:

3. Zucchini Flowers

Are you growing two or three zucchini plants in your vegetable garden? That’s your ideal flower supply. Yes, just like this veggie-fruit, the flowers can be eaten! In fact, they’ve been considered a delicacy in Italy for centuries! It’s preferable to pick the flowers carried by straight, not swollen stems and in which you can see stamens. Flowers with a bulging base will yield zucchini later on in the season and it would be a shame to go without them.

In the kitchen

It’s no surprise that the flowers have a delicate taste reminiscent of zucchini. You can eat them raw or in salads, but most commonly, they’re served stuffed and fried or simply pan-fried in a bit of oil and garlic. Although the flowers can be kept for 1 or 2 days in the fridge, it’s best to eat them on the day they’re picked.

Impress your guests with these two zucchini-flower recipes:

4. Roses

Roses are timeless flowers, synonymous with romance. Their intoxicating fragrance and great beauty charm all our senses, including our taste buds. For cooking, petals are mostly favoured, even though both the flower buds and fruits (called rosehips) can also be eaten.

In the kitchen

As with most edible flowers, it’s ideal to pick them early in the morning, when the air is still fresh. Older rose varieties are preferred because they are said to be tastier than hybrid roses and modern cultivars. However, regardless of the varieties you grow, avoid consuming roses that have been treated with insecticide, fungicide and other chemical products. (As for the bouquet your love gave you, just leave it in its vase!)

Dried rose petals give a decorative touch to these recipes:

5. Lavender

Native to the Mediterranean and particularly prized by perfumers, lavender is a fragrant plant of which some rustic varieties are well adapted to our cold winters. They all require direct sunlight and the less resistant kinds can be grown as annual plants.

In the kitchen

One important thing to know before adding lavender to your culinary concoctions is that not all varieties are edible. The good news, though, is that true lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), which grows very well in our climate, is indeed edible. If you wish to cook with it, use the flowers, fresh or dried, to season desserts and some dishes. In all cases, make sure to measure quantities properly. With their strong aroma, you’ll agree that moderation is better.

Here are a couple of recipes to cook with fragrant lavender: