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Flower Power Rules - OK?

7/6/2015

4 Comments

 
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The kitchen garden at Trafford Hall near Chester where I was Head Gardener for over eleven years.
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Scented Pelargonium makes a beautifully fragrant floral sugar that you can use for meringue, cakes and biscuits
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Crown Jewels Salad
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My very favourite soup - courgette made even better with chive and wild garlic flowers
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The yummiest ice cream ever - lavender and honey with rose petal sorbet. 
list_of_edible_flowers.pdf
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To find dates and book a place on my next ‘The Floral Kitchen’ workshop  – click here
To find dates and book a place on my next ‘Healthy Home-made Chocolate’ workshops – click here  
Hello Gardening Friends!

I've often been asked how to make a veg plot prettier without sacrificing productivity.  The assumption seems to be that flowers are a frivolous addition, not useful and certainly not worthy of a place next to the leeks!  In today's offering I want to show you that flowers not only add to the aesthetics but that they also add to the productivity.  Firstly, they can be used as companion plants and secondly, they can be used as a crop in themselves. There are lots of flowers that are edible and today's blog will illustrate just how fabulous they can be when used in your cooking. (If you want to know about companion planting never fear - there'll be a post about that soon).

I
love an ornamental kitchen garden – ideally one that nestles within an old walled garden; sheltered, warm, tucked away, private, secret; a delightful surprise, bursting with colour and humming with its own vitality.


I guess that this is a garden that many of us have aspired to at some point in our lives.  This is the vision that prompted me to become a professional gardener in the first place and maybe this is your grand scheme now.   If so, read on, you may find some inspiration.                                                    
We may not have the walled idyll of the grand 18th century estates, (think Chatsworth,  think Pride & Prejudice – you know Colin Firth and all that), but we can all create a kitchen garden that is both productive and beautiful –  even in a small space.                                           

 What’s more the beautiful can also be edible. 

One way of achieving this is to either grow edible flowers and herbs alongside your fruit and veg, or if space is at a premium, just go for the flowers.

I'm a HUGE fan of edible flowers . They play a big part in my garden at home and in the food I eat.  I also use them to make gifts of  jams, jellies, biscuits and chocolate. 
                                                                  
I love the colour, texture and floral notes that flowers add to my cooking and baking: a summertime salad of nasturtium, borage and calendula, (see picture left), chive flowers on my courgette soup, lavender + honey ice cream (my favourite) and rose petal sorbet;  all visually stunning and really delicious.  It’s all really easy and yet feels so very special. Just imagine your summer al fresco lunch with flowers taking centre stage – fab!                                                                                                                                                                         
Whenever I run
The Floral Kitchen workshop, everyone is surprised
and wowed by the onslaught on their senses.  Each recipe we make delights the eyes and nose and offers varieties of texture and flavour that are all new and exciting.            
                              

What's  more adding flowers to your diet also adds colour. This is important nutritionally as well as aesthetically.  Flowers make food look appealing but the often vivid colours also mean they contain good things too – like anti-oxidants, vitamins and trace elements.  A colourful meal is often a healthy one.

So, next time you settle down in your armchair to plan your ornamental kitchen garden, why not include a few edible flowers? The bees and hoverflies will be delighted and so will your eyes and taste buds come dinnertime.

Until next time…….



Want to know more?  Click on the link in the left sidebar to download a list of safe to eat edible flowers complete with notes on how to use them and how to grow them yourself.

PS
  A word of warning though – not all flowers are edible and some can be deadly . Foxglove, Aconite and Lily of the Valley spring to mind.  You need to be cautious and only eat what you know to be safe. 


Over to You:

What are your favourite edible flowers and what do you like to make with them?  I’d love to hear your stories.  Just drop me a line in the comments section below.




 
4 Comments
kate wilson link
7/7/2015 10:26:03 am

Hi there I love the blog - yes I too want a vegetable plot with flowers and especially flowers that are companion plants as well as being pretty. I am just about to take over a new vegetable plot so look forward to reading your posts. Kate

Reply
Jo
7/7/2015 04:52:09 pm

Hi Kate

Thanks for reading my blog and taking the time to post a comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm really excited for you with your new project. You will be making lists of all the things you want to grow and all the work you need to do! My aim is to post something every two weeks and I will put companion planting on the list of topics to cover. Please let me know of any other topics you would like to read about. Best wishes to you and good luck with your new veg plot. Jo

Reply
Mei
7/9/2015 05:58:53 am

Hi Jo,
Great to see your blog! Looking forward to reading your posts.
I just brought this months GYO magazine. It featured an article on Unusual Edible Blooms, which I forgot to bring to the Really Useful Plants Workshop last weekend.
(Brilliant and very fun workshop by the way, loving the face mask and facial scrub we made!)
It talks about edible tulips, which I thought was really interesting as it is not one I would think about eating, but would now like to try.

Just wondered if you have tried it yourself? Mei :)

Reply
Jo
7/9/2015 04:10:20 pm

Hi Mei.
Thanks for your message. I'm so glad you enjoyed the Calendar of Really Useful Plants workshop and the little treats we made. I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop too. I haven't tried Tulips yet but they are on my 'to eat' list for next spring. I usually use tulips in flower arrangements so next year I will be creating edible flower arrangements which sounds good to me! I would love to see the article you mention - at last edible flowers are making into the gardening magazines. Hurrah! Jo

Reply



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    Jo Dyer:


    I want you to get the most out of your garden that you can.
    I also love writing blogs! 
    I love experimenting with the things I grow in my garden.  I like cooking and creating and  I'm a budding florist and raw chocolatier.
    ​


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