You can definitely add nasturtium and pansy flowers to salads. Neither has a great deal of taste, but they look terrific and are most definitely edible. If you are entertaining you'll probably find people pick them out and leave on the sides of their plates - they can take a lot of persuading sometimes.
You can also candy cowslip flowers and rose petals. I am not so keen on roses (though they are edible) as they have such a strange texture (to me, anyway)
Answered by Andrew Mikolajski from United Kingdom, Long Buckby, in July 2010.
Andrew Mikolajski is a Gardening writer and speaker.
In the Southeastern United States (7B), we have a few edible flowers to add to the list. Many of these grow in temperate climate zones all over the world.
Scented Geraniums work well in salads, and iced drinks.
The Nasturtiums mentioned previously are also a wonderful addition to fish cakes and potato cakes. We like to grow Nasturtiums in hanging baskets for best results, because they have a short life in the Southeast due to our humidity.
The blue flowers of Borage are edible, and have a cool cucumber taste. Use these to top off a cold Gazpacho soup.
One Marigold we like is Tagetes tenuifolia: 'Lemon Gem' and 'Tangerine Gem' have a citrus tarragon flavor and add a splash of brilliant color to summer salads.
ALWAYS KNOW THE SOURCE FROM WHICH YOU USE EDIBLE FLOWERS. In other words, don't pick them from the roadside or a public garden, or any place else in which flowers may have come into contact with pesticides.
Answered by Wallace Gardens from USA, Suwanee in July 2010.
Wallace Gardens offers Garden Design Services and Container Gardens
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