Eat your flowerbeds!

April 1, 2007

Flowers are nutritious and beautiful, and many are hailed as having powerful healing properties and aphrodisiac qualities. They can make a meal colorful and even a bit interesting for those who are sure a bug will soon emerge from the petals and crawl across their plate.

These things are all good. Aroused senses are essential for an invigorating eating experience.

Flowers are not fast food - they should be savored. Eating day lilies and roses petal by petal, for example, shows off their flavor and delicacy and enhances the enjoyment.

Wandering outside to graze is not the idea here. First, you may want to find out what flowers will kill you or at least make you really sick if eaten.

Some flowers have it all, including toxins, poisons and allergens. Examples of flowers often grown here that are considered poisonous are crocus, daffodil, foxglove, lily of the valley, Asiatic and oriental lilies and monkshood. Aside from the poison factor, it's also good to know if the flowers you want to eat have been treated with chemicals.

And don't forget to avoid the route your dog and all his buddies take on their morning walks.

Nasturtium, calendula, scented geraniums, rose petals, borage, violets, dandelions and day lilies are common flowers that most of us recognize. They are all edible. Here's a list of some yummy, easy to grow flowers. Plan for them now while the summer is young and there's time to plant.

Borage (Borago officinalis) is an easy-to-grow, star-shaped, blue blossom. With a light cucumber flavor, it's great eaten alone or in a salad. Flowers are traditionally used to combat fever, restore vitality from illness and calm the nerves.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis) blossoms are bright yellow or orange and taste a little spicy, and tangy. These are great added to stir fried vegetables at the last moment, and traditionally used for colitis, cramps, ulcers, fever and anti-nausea.

Dandelion I hardly need to describe - unfortunately we all know and love (?) them. These nutritious creatures should be the king of the table. The flowers are excellent tasting, especially when prepared as tempura. The leaves are wonderful wilted with a little bacon, or in a salad. They are touted to be powerful blood purifiers as well.

Lavender (Lavendula species) has a perfumed, floral flavor that makes it a great addition to pastries. Folk medicine prescribes lavender to soothe migraine headaches, flatulence and dizziness. Use sparingly, or you may get a tummy ach.

Lilac (Syringa) bears not only a wonderful smelling blossom, but one with a lemony, floral, flavor with pungent overtones. These qualities make lilacs a great after dinner mouth cleanser and they're not bad in a pound cake either.

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is so easy to grow, that it should be on everyone's table. Buds and blossoms have a wonderful mix of sweet and peppery flavors.They are excellent in salads, in tempura batter, or mixed with cream cheese in a sandwich.

Rose (Rosa rugosa) petals have a sweet, aromatic flavor. The stronger the fragrance of a rose, the stronger the flavor. Rose hips are also edible and high in vitamin C. Folk remedies from the hips have been used for centuries to treat headache and dizziness.

Scientists identify rose hips as being very high in many anti-oxidants.

Violets are hardly a shrinking ingredient. These little beauties make delectable sugared candy, pungent tea, float beautifully in a bowl of punch and are sweet, subtle and crunchy if served fresh. They are fabulous in homemade ice cream to.

Grazing tips: Use your common sense, or borrow it from the experts if you don't have your own. Eat conservative amounts as you first embrace flowers. Some of them might not agree with you. Be aware of the environment in which your edible flowers grow. You wouldn't eat a sandwich you found lying in the ditch.

Lilac or Lavender Pound Cake

Combine 3 C flour, 2 T baking powder, 1/2 t salt and set aside. Cream 2 sticks butter, 2 t vanilla, and 2 C sugar until light and fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time. Beat until fluffy. Add dry ingredients and 1 C milk alternately until batter is smooth. Fold in 1 C freshly picked lilac or lavender

blossoms. Bake in greased, floured pan at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.

Sally Koppenberg is a garden and food designer and the owner of Stonehill Gardens, a nursery and catering company specializing in Alaska Grown foods, trees, shrubs, perennials and native plants.