Edible Flower Seed Garden

Edible flowers enhance your vegetable garden

I know you’ve been told to eat your vegetables, but have you ever heard the benefits of eating flowers? Edible flowers are known to contain powerful cancer-fighting antioxidants and inflammation-reducing flavonoids, so we say stock up!

With less than 20 varieties available, it’s almost imperative that you try them all. Edible flowers do double duty in your eating garden–not only do these flowers grace your table, but they work in the garden to draw beneficial insects to your vegetables, ensuring pollination and deterring pests. Intercrop these edible flowers and herbs with your vegetables, and just see how much a difference it will make in your garden this season.

Edible flowers for garnishes, salads, and teas

Flowers bring beauty to the table, but they bring flavor to the plate. Nasturtiums like the Alaska Mix are known to have a peppery taste, and Carnation Grenadin Double Mix is a bit spicy, too. Cornflower Tall Blue is a little on the sweeter side, with a taste reminiscent of cloves. Roman Chamomile has a distinct flavor and makes an excellent homemade tea.

Johnny jump-ups and pansies are the perfect addition to your leafy greens bed. Pansies have a mild taste that blends well with lettuce, making these adorable flowers the perfect garnish for a garden-fresh salad. Nasturtiums are also delicious in a salad, or atop a stir fry or soup. Add borage to a cocktail for a touch of melon flavor in a refreshing drink. Carnations and pansies can be coated in syrup and baked for a cute, candied treat!

How to harvest edible flowers

There’s no end to the ways that flowers can be used in the kitchen. Flavor aside, many of these edible flowers have medicinal properties, too. Lavender has long been used to soothe stress, anxiety, and insomnia, among other physical and mental ailments. Purple Coneflower, or echinacea, has always been prized for its antiviral and immune-boosting properties.

To harvest flowers for therapeutic or culinary use, look for buds that have opened but are not yet spent (pollinated flowers will look dirty). Pick flower heads to use as garnishes for dishes and drinks, but harvest several inches of stem to dry flowers for tea. Bundle the stems together and hang to dry in a dry, dark place to retain the petals’ color. Edible flowers also have edible foliage, so feel free to use the leaves and flowers in tea!

We are passionate about health at Eden Brothers, and that’s why we took the Safe Seed Pledge–to ensure that your seed will always be 100% seed, free of additives or fillers and GMOs. You can sow (and eat) edible flower seeds with confidence–just be sure to properly identify flowers as edible varieties before eating them.

Beauty and nutrition don’t always have to be distinct from one another–we actually believe that the two are inseparable. Have some fun with your vegetable garden this year and grow edible flowers!