13 Edible Flowers to Grow in Your Garden

A Beautiful Guide to Growing and Using Edible Flowers

Adding flowers to your dishes is one of the easiest ways to bring extra color and personality to plant-based cooking. They can also add unexpected flavors and textures, from peppery nasturtiums to cucumber-like borage and fragrant lavender.

Before you start picking flowers from the garden, though, it is important to know exactly which blooms are safe to bring into the kitchen. From our garden to yours, here is what you need to know about growing, harvesting, storing, and eating edible flowers safely.

The 6 Golden Rules of Edible Flowers

Before you harvest a single petal, keep these basic safety rules in mind:

• Identify the flower with complete certainty. Some toxic plants can look very similar to edible ones, and common names are not always reliable. Never eat a flower unless you are certain of its botanical identity.
• Know how your flowers were grown. The safest choice is to grow edible flowers yourself or buy flowers specifically sold for culinary use. Avoid florist flowers, roadside blooms, and ornamental plants with an unknown treatment history, since they may have been exposed to pesticides or other products that are not intended for food crops.
• Harvest and clean them gently. Pick flowers when they are fresh and fully open, preferably in the morning after the dew has dried. Check them carefully for insects and remove any damaged petals. If washing is necessary, rinse them gently in cool water and allow them to dry before using.
• Use the right parts of the flower. With many larger flowers, the petals are the most pleasant part to eat, while the center and green base can be bitter or unpleasant. There are exceptions, including nasturtium leaves and seed pods, so always check the individual plant before eating it.
• Introduce new flowers slowly. Even correctly identified edible flowers can cause digestive discomfort or allergic reactions in some people. Start with a small amount, especially if you are sensitive to pollen or have strong seasonal allergies.
• Store them carefully. Edible flowers are best used soon after picking. If you need to keep them, place them loosely in a shallow container lined with a slightly damp paper towel and refrigerate them away from the coldest part of the fridge. Avoid crushing or overcrowding the blossoms, and try to use them within a day or two for the best color, flavor, and texture.

Quick Guide: What Flowers Are Edible?

What flowers are edible and safe to eat from the garden? Some of the most popular edible garden flowers include nasturtiums, pansies, calendula, cornflowers, sweet alyssum, dianthus, lavender, chamomile, lilac, roses, dahlias, borage, and pink sorrel.

The most important part is correct identification. Flowers should also be grown for food use and should not have been treated with products that are unsuitable for edible crops.

The 13 Best Edible Flowers to Grow in Your Garden

If you want to grow your own colorful edible garden flowers, these 13 flowers offer a beautiful mix of flavors, colors, textures, and culinary uses.

1. Nasturtiums: The Peppery Garden Favorite

• Botanical Name: Tropaeolum majus
• Common Names: Indian cress, garden nasturtium, monk’s cress
• Growth & Appearance: A spreading or climbing annual with rounded leaves and bright trumpet-shaped flowers in yellow, orange, red, and other warm shades. It flowers generously through much of summer and into autumn.
• Flavor Profile: Fresh and peppery with a mild sweetness, somewhere between watercress and a young radish.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: The leaves are crisp and juicy, while the petals are thin and tender.
• Culinary Artistry: Flowers and young leaves work beautifully in summer salads, sandwiches, savory tarts, and plant-based spreads. The round leaves can also be used as a striking natural decoration on platters.
• Nutritional Highlights: Nasturtiums contain vitamin C, carotenoids, and other plant compounds, although exact nutrient levels vary depending on growing conditions and which part of the plant is tested.
• Chef’s Bonus Tip: Pick the young green seed pods while they are still firm and pickle them in vinegar and spices. They are traditionally known as “poor man’s capers” and make a sharp, peppery condiment.

2. Pansies: Colorful Edible Flowers for Cakes and Desserts

• Botanical Names: Viola × wittrockiana, Viola tricolor, Viola cornuta
• Common Names: Pansy, viola
• Growth & Appearance: Cool-weather flowers that thrive in spring and autumn, with soft, velvety blooms in purple, yellow, blue, white, burgundy, and mixed colors. They are one of the easiest choices if you want a naturally striking purple edible flower.
• Flavor Profile: Mild and fresh with a slightly green flavor. Some varieties also have a subtle sweetness or wintergreen-like note.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: Soft, smooth, and delicate enough to eat whole.
• Culinary Artistry: Their flat shape makes them especially useful for decorating cakes, cookies, raw desserts, salads, drinks, and ice cubes. They can also be crystallized with sugar for a more traditional floral decoration.

3. Calendula: The Golden “Poor Man’s Saffron”

• Botanical Name: Calendula officinalis
• Common Names: Pot marigold, common marigold
• Growth & Appearance: An easy annual with cheerful yellow and orange daisy-like flowers. It has a long flowering season and usually continues producing blooms until colder weather arrives.
• Flavor Profile: Mildly peppery and tangy, with a slightly bitter, herbal finish.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: The individual petals are light and silky but hold their shape well when scattered over warm dishes.
• Culinary Artistry: Pull the colorful petals away from the central flower head and scatter them over risottos, pasta, soups, rice dishes, or salads.
• The Saffron Alternative: Calendula has long been called “poor man’s saffron” because the petals can give food a warm golden color. It works well as a natural coloring ingredient, although its flavor is quite different from true saffron.

4. Cornflowers: The Brilliant Blue Edible Garnish

• Botanical Name: Centaurea cyanus
• Common Names: Bachelor’s button
• Growth & Appearance: A hardy annual known for its vivid blue flowers, although varieties can also appear in purple, pink, white, and darker shades.
• Flavor Profile: Mild, slightly spicy, and earthy, sometimes with a light clove-like note.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: Fine, papery, and delicate enough to blend into a dish without changing its texture much.
• Culinary Artistry: Pull the colorful florets away from the tougher center and scatter them over pale desserts, creamy soups, salads, or tea blends. Their strong blue color makes them especially useful when you want visual contrast.

5. Sweet Alyssum: Tiny Flowers with a Peppery Bite

• Botanical Name: Lobularia maritima
• Common Names: Sweet alyssum, sweet Alison
• Growth & Appearance: A low-growing annual or short-lived perennial that forms clusters of tiny white, pink, or purple flowers with a sweet honey-like scent.
• Flavor Profile: Surprisingly peppery for such a delicate flower, which makes sense once you remember that it belongs to the mustard family.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: Tiny and light with a gentle crunch when several flowers are eaten together.
• Culinary Artistry: Use the small clusters as a delicate garnish for salads, cakes, desserts, plant-based cheesecakes, and other dishes where a large flower would feel too heavy.
• Garden Note: Sweet alyssum is also useful in an edible garden because its small flowers attract pollinators and beneficial insects.
• Safety Note: Make sure you are using correctly identified Lobularia maritima, since “alyssum” is a common name used for more than one plant. As with all edible flowers, use only blooms grown for food and free from unsuitable pesticides or treatments.

6. Dianthus: The Clove-Scented Edible Flower

• Botanical Name: Dianthus caryophyllus
• Common Names: Carnation, clove pink, gillyflower
• Growth & Appearance: A fringed, fragrant perennial that is also commonly grown as an annual. It prefers a sunny position and well-drained soil, producing ruffled flowers in shades of pink, red, white, yellow, and other colors.
• Flavor Profile: Sweet and aromatic with warm clove-like notes.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: Soft but slightly firmer than very delicate flowers such as pansies.
• Culinary Artistry: Dianthus petals pair especially well with fruit, sorbets, berry compotes, cakes, plant-based ice creams, syrups, and lightly sweetened desserts.
• Chef’s Prep Tip: Use the petals rather than the leaves, and remove the small white heel at the base of each petal because it can taste bitter.

7. Lavender: The Fragrant Culinary Classic

• Botanical Name: Lavandula angustifolia (syn. Lavandula officinalis)
• Common Names: English lavender, true lavender, common lavender
• Growth & Appearance: A sun-loving perennial shrub that prefers dry, well-drained soil and produces slender spikes covered with fragrant purple flowers.
• Flavor Profile: Strongly floral and herbal with sweet notes and hints that can remind you of mint, citrus, or rosemary.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: Fresh buds are fairly firm, while dried lavender becomes crisp and easy to crumble.
• Culinary Artistry: Lavender is powerful, so use it lightly. Add small amounts to blondies, biscuits, cakes, infused sugar, tea, syrups, or coconut cream for desserts. Cultivars of English lavender such as ‘Munstead’ and ‘Hidcote’ are especially popular for culinary use.
• Chef’s Bonus Tip: Start with less lavender than you think you need. Too much can quickly overpower a dish and make it taste medicinal.

8. Chamomile: The Calming Herbal Favorite

Botanical Names: Matricaria chamomilla (German), Chamaemelum nobile (Roman)
Common Names: German chamomile, Roman chamomile
Growth & Appearance: Both types produce small white, daisy-like flowers with yellow centers. German chamomile grows as an annual, while Roman chamomile forms a lower-growing perennial mat.
Flavor Profile: Gently floral with the familiar apple-like aroma associated with chamomile. Roman chamomile tends to have a stronger, more herbal flavor with a slightly bitter edge.
Culinary Uses: Use the blossoms fresh or dried for herbal tea, plant-based milk infusions, syrups, puddings, cakes, biscuits, and other lightly flavored desserts.

German vs. Roman Chamomile: Which One Should You Use?

Both can be used in the kitchen, but they have slightly different flavor profiles. Here is the easiest way to choose between them.

Variety A: German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)

For a Milder, Sweeter Flavor:

Choose German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla). Its flowers have a mild, gently sweet flavor, which makes it the more common choice for tea, desserts, and delicate culinary infusions.

Variety B: Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)

For a Stronger Herbal Flavor:

Choose Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). Its flowers have a more intense, herbal character with a slightly bitter edge, so they work well when you want a more pronounced chamomile flavor in teas and infusions.

9. Lilac: The Fragrant Spring Flower for Syrups and Desserts

• Botanical Name: Syringa vulgaris
• Common Names: Common lilac
• Growth & Appearance: A woody garden shrub that produces dense clusters of purple, lavender, pink, or white flowers in spring or late spring, depending on the climate.
• Flavor Profile: Floral and fragrant with a mild green or slightly bitter finish. The taste is usually less sweet than the scent suggests.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: Soft and delicate when freshly picked.
• Culinary Artistry: Separate the tiny blossoms from the woody stems and use them in syrups, infused sugars, cakes, fruit desserts, drinks, or light vinegars. Their floral character pairs especially well with berries and lemon.

10. Roses: The Culinary Queen of the Garden

Rose petals have been used in cooking for centuries, but some varieties are far more flavorful than others. Roses with a strong natural fragrance generally work better in the kitchen than heavily bred ornamental varieties with little or no scent.

Only use flowers from correctly identified roses that have been grown without treatments that make them unsuitable for food.

If the pale heel at the bottom of a petal tastes bitter, trim it away before using the rest of the petal.

Variety A: The Rugosa Rose (Rosa rugosa)

Best for Generous Harvests, Teas, and Preserves

• Common Names: Rugosa rose, beach rose, Japanese rose
• Growth & Appearance: A hardy, thorny shrub with fragrant flowers in shades of pink, magenta, or white.
• Flavor Profile: Strongly perfumed with a rich, classic rose aroma.
• Culinary Uses: The fragrant petals work well in herbal teas, syrups, preserves, rose sugar, desserts, and summer salads. The plant also produces large rose hips that can be used for jams, syrups, and teas.

Variety B: The Generous Gardener (Rosa ‘The Generous Gardener’)

Best for Delicate Floral Decorating

• Common Names: David Austin climbing rose
• Growth & Appearance: A climbing rose with large, softly cupped flowers in pale pink.
• Flavor Profile: Gently fragrant with classic rose notes and a light musky character.
• Culinary Uses: If grown for food without unsuitable sprays, the soft petals can be used on cakes, fruit desserts, smoothie bowls, or frozen into decorative ice cubes.

Rugosa vs. The Generous Gardener: Which One Should You Use?

• For a Productive Kitchen Rose: Choose Rosa rugosa. Its fragrant petals are useful in many recipes, and the plant also produces large rose hips for preserves and teas.
• For Decorative Petals: Choose The Generous Gardener if you already grow it and want pale pink petals for cakes, desserts, and other visual details.
• Safety Note: Use either variety only when the plant has been correctly identified and grown without products that are unsuitable for edible crops.

11. Dahlias: Edible Flowers and Tubers with a Long Food History

Dahlias are known for their beautiful range of shapes and colors, which makes their petals especially interesting for food styling. They also have a much older culinary history in Mexico, where the tuberous roots of several dahlia species have traditionally been eaten.

Young petals generally have the best texture. If you want to experiment with dahlia tubers, start with a small amount and cook them as you would other root vegetables.

Here are two useful examples:

Variety A: The Common Garden Dahlia (Dahlia hybrids)

Best for Colorful Petals

• Common Names: Garden dahlia
• Growth & Appearance: Garden dahlias come in an enormous range of colors, shapes, and sizes, from small single flowers to heavily layered dinner-plate blooms.
• Flavor Profile: The petals vary by cultivar. Some are mild and green, while others can taste slightly sweet, earthy, or bitter.
• Culinary Artistry: Use young petals as a colorful garnish for plant-based cakes, salads, cheese boards, grain dishes, or other plates where their shape and color can stand out.

Variety B: The Wild Red Dahlia (Dahlia coccinea)

A Species with Traditional Food Uses

• Common Names: Scarlet dahlia, red dahlia
• Growth & Appearance: A Mexican species with simpler flowers, usually in shades of red, orange, or yellow.
• Flavor Profile: The flavor can vary from plant to plant, so start with a small amount when using the petals in a dish.
• Culinary Artistry: The simple, colorful flowers work well as a light garnish on savory bowls, salads, desserts, and drinks.

Garden Dahlia vs. Wild Red Dahlia: Which One Should You Use?

• For Flower Decorating: Garden dahlias give you the widest choice of colors and shapes, which makes them especially useful for decorative petals.
• For Exploring Traditional Food Uses: Dahlia coccinea is one of several Mexican dahlia species with a documented history of food use, particularly its tuberous roots.
• Digestion Note: Dahlia tubers contain inulin, a fermentable carbohydrate that can cause gas or bloating when eaten in larger quantities. If you have never eaten them before, start with a small cooked portion.

12. Borage: The Blue Flower with a Cucumber Flavor

• Botanical Name: Borago officinalis
• Common Names: Starflower, borage
• Growth & Appearance: An easy-growing annual with fuzzy leaves and distinctive blue, star-shaped flowers.
• Flavor Profile: Fresh and cooling with a flavor often compared to cucumber.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: The flowers are delicate, while the leaves have a noticeably fuzzy surface.
• Culinary Artistry: A few blue flowers can be used to decorate chilled soups, salads, desserts, or ice cubes.
• Modern Safety Note: Borage naturally contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, or PAs, and recent research has identified relevant levels in different parts of the plant, including the flowers. For that reason, I prefer to treat borage as an occasional garnish rather than something to eat frequently or in large quantities. I would also avoid using large amounts of raw borage leaves as a regular salad green.

13. Pink Sorrel: The Lemony Garden Garnish

• Botanical Name: Oxalis articulata
• Common Names: Pink sorrel, pink wood sorrel
• Growth & Appearance: A low-growing perennial with shamrock-shaped leaves and bright pink flowers.
• Flavor Profile: Fresh, sharp, and distinctly lemony.
• Texture & Mouthfeel: Thin, tender, and delicate.
• Culinary Artistry: Use the flowers and leaves in small amounts when you want a sour, citrus-like accent. They work especially well on grain bowls, avocado toast, salads, and rich or creamy desserts.
• Dietary Caution: Pink sorrel contains oxalic acid, which is responsible for much of its sour flavor. Enjoy it as a garnish or seasoning rather than eating it in large quantities. People who have been advised to limit high-oxalate foods should be especially cautious.

Bringing the Garden to the Plate

Using edible flowers in everyday cooking is a beautiful way to follow the seasons and bring something from the garden directly into the kitchen. Growing your own gives you access to colors, shapes, fragrances, and subtle flavors that are difficult to find in an ordinary grocery store.

Start simply. Press a few purple pansies into cookies, scatter peppery nasturtium petals over a summer salad, add calendula to a warm grain dish, or use a few fragrant rose petals to finish a dessert.

Once you start noticing which edible flowers are blooming outside, the garden begins to feel like another part of the pantry.