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Harlequins Gardens

Harlequins Gardens

Boulder's specialist in well-adapted plants

We Are Open Tuesday – Sunday, 9 – 5 for the season

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Home | Plants | Perennials | Edible Flowers

Edible Flowers

June 9, 2020

Incorporating edible flowers in your cuisine not only adds visual appeal, but also can offer high nutritional value and great flavors. Edible flowers have been used for millennia in many cultures to enhance everything from salad to beer and wine. A quick internet query on “ancient edible flower recipes” revealed many results.  It could be a fun family event to recreate a heritage recipe!

The flavor of many flowers is improved by removing the sexual parts – stamens, anthers and pistils. And, you will notice how a flowers’ flavor can vary as the plant ages throughout the season, and with variations in the soil, and climate (think terroir!)

There are plenty of edible flowers to choose from, but caution is required, as some flowers are definitely NOT safe to eat. It’s safe to assume that a flower is not edible unless it’s one of those known to be safe. First, make sure that you know the correct identity of the plant. Then, it’s very important that your plants have not been exposed to pesticides.  If you are unsure about either of these points, don’t eat any part of the plant until its safety can be positively assured. Just because you recognize a resemblance between a new flower and one you know is edible doesn’t mean it’s safe to eat! There are plant families that contain near-lookalikes, some of which are edible and tasty while their close relatives are seriously, even lethally, toxic.

Even though they contain some of our most important and eminently edible crops, some of the plant families to be especially wary of are the Parsley (Apiaceae) family, Nightshade (Solanaceae) family, and Legume/Bean (Fabaceae) family.  Lastly, just because another part of a plant is known to be edible, like the seed, root, or foliage, doesn’t mean that the flower is edible.

COMMON GARDEN PLANTS AND WEEDS WITH EDIBLE FLOWERS

  • Evening Primrose / Oenothera

    Anise Hyssop

  • Apple
  • Arugula
  • Bachelor Button / Cornflower
  • Basil
  • Bee Balm
  • Black Locust
  • Borage
  • Calendula
  • Campanula/Bellflower
  • Chamomile
  • Chicory
  • Daylily / Hemerocallis

    Chives

  • Cilantro
  • Cleome
  • Crambe maritima, Sea Kale
  • Cucumber
  • Dandelion
  • Daylily
  • Dianthus
  • Dill
  • Elderberry

    Elderberry

  • Evening Primrose/Oenothera
  • Fava Bean
  • Fennel
  • Green Bean
  • Honeysuckle
  • Lavender
  • Lemon Balm
  • Lilac
  • Lilac
  • Lilium philadephicum

    Lily / Genus Lilium

  • Linden
  • Marigold
  • Mint
  • Mint
  • Monarda
  • Nasturtiums (Pictured above)
  • Pansy
  • Parsley
  • Pea (the vegetable only)
  • Pelargonium
  • Fernleaf Peony

    Peony

  • Pumpkin
  • Quince
  • Redbud
  • Rose
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Savory
  • Scarlet Runner Bean
  • Thyme

    Squash

  • Sweet Woodruff
  • Tall Garden Phlox / Phlox Paniculata
  • Teucrium
  • Thyme
  • Tulip
  • Viola, Johnny Jump-Up
  • Violet
  • Watermelon

COMMON FLOWERS THAT ARE NOT EDIBLE

  • Clematis

    Anemone / Windflower

  • Baby’s Breath
  • Buttercup Ranunculus, Trollius, Caltha
  • Clematis
  • Columbine
  • Datura / Angel’s Trumpet
  • Delphinium / Larkspur
  • Hydrangea
  • Columbine

    Iris

  • Monkshood
  • Nicotiana / Flowering Tobacco
  • Petunia
  • Poppy
  • Sweet Pea

 

Categories: Perennials, Blog, OLD-Blog, OLD-Recipes

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We do not ship plants!

Our plants are for sale ONLY at our Boulder location. We DO NOT ship plants or any other products.  Come visit us!

Hours by Season

SUMMER HOURS
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

 

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Contact Us

303-939-9403 (Retail)
staff@harlequinsgardens.com

4795 North 26th St
Boulder, CO 80301

Sign-up for E-Newsletters!

Sign-up for our weekly e-newsletters to receive empowering gardening tips, ecological insights, and to keep up on happenings at Harlequin’s Gardens — such as flash sales and “just in” plants. We never share customer’s addresses!

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Our Hours

Seasonally, MARCH to OCTOBER.
MARCH HOURS:
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS:
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

JANUARY - FEBRUARY HOURS
Thursday-Saturday, 10AM-4PM

Mondays, CLOSED

The plants we grow are organically grown. All the plants we sell are free of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides.