NAME

CHARACTER

EDIBLE PARTS

USES

1- Bergamot (Monardia didyma)

Strong spicy scent

Makes good tea.

Partners well with bacon, poultry, rice and pasta, add petals to salads or use to decorate cakes and desserts.

2- Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum)

Bitter (I haven’t tried this due to the allergy mentioned above). 

Petals

Add flavour and colour to creamy soups, fish chowder and egg dishes in a similar way to calendula.

3- Daisy (Bellis perennis)

Mild to slightly bitter with no particular flavour.

Petals

No real taste but make a pretty addition to salads, cakes or chilled soups

4- Elderflower (Sambucus nigra) 

Strong, distinct floral scent and flavour

Whole flower

Berries can also be used.

Fantastic for making wine and cordials, place in a muslin bag to flavour jams tarts, jellies, soft cheeses etc. but remove before finishing and/or serving. 

Elderflowers can be dipped in a very fine tempura batter and deep fried for a delicious starter to a meal

The berries can also be used for jams, jellies, wines,  or dials etc.

5- Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)

Spicy/peppery

Whole flower

Petals

Buds

Leaves

Seeds

The colour and taste makes them great for salads, they can be added to pasta and rice dishes or the leaves can be added to soups and stir fry dishes.

The fresh seeds can be pickled and used in place of capers, an all round winner in the edible flower stakes.

6- Day lily (Hemerocallis)

Peppery

Buds

Flowers

Remove pistils and all traces of pollen

Use flowers and buds in salads, stir fry dishes, soups, pasta and rice dishes. Eating too many may have a laxative effect.

Only hemerocallis, the 'Day Lily' or tiger lily can be eaten. Do not eat other types of lilies (Lillium) as they are poisonous.

7- Hibiscus (H. rosa-sinensis)

Mild but distinct  tart/citrus type flavour

Whole flower

Use to make a tart tasting drink which can be taken hot or cold, the addition of lime juice changes the drink colour from a reddy brown to a brighter red, sugar or honey can be added to sweeten.

Petals can be added to salads

Can be candied and used for a sweet snack or in desserts.

Hibiscus should NOT be used during pregnancy!!

8- Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

Mild

Whole flower

Petals

Can be used fresh or crystal used to decorate cakes and biscuits. 

Freeze in ice cubes to add to drinks.

9- Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)

Mild floral

Petals - remove all traces of pollen before use.

Add petals fresh to salads.

Use fresh or crystalised to decorate cakes and biscuits. 

Can add a mild flavour when infused in cordials/syrups.

10- Rose (Rosa) 

Floral and fragrant

Petals

All roses are edible but the more fragrant they are the better they are. They can be used in fruit salads (shred and add when serving), they can be crystalised, you can even flavour the crystalising sugar with them! They’re great for flavouring drinks, adding to desserts, decorating cakes and flavouring icing. 

11- Lavender (Lavandula augustifolia) 

floral but pungent, similar to rosemary but with a more floral note.

Flowers and leaves.

Add clean dry and lightly bruised lavender to a jar and fill with sugar, leave in a cupboard for a couple of weeks to infuse the sugar with glorious lavender, shaking from time to time. It can also be used to flavour honey, oil, vinegar, it can be used in cakes and biscuits, custard, ice cream, or sprigs can be added to meat or dense fish as you would with rosemary.

12- Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) 

Slightly peppery taste but quite mild.

Petals

Beautiful addition to salads, can be used in desserts, soups, stews, pasta and rice dishes. Petals dry well and can be used to infuse oils and vinegars or to flavour butter. 

13- Scented geraniums (Pelargonium) 

intensely floral with a hint of citrus.

Flowers and leaves

leaves are very intense and can be used in meat dishes, pasta and rice dishes. Flowers are milder and can be used in salads, as flavouring for cordials and syrups, to infuse sugar or honey and look amazing crystalised on cakes/biscuits or frozen in ice cubes to add to drinks.

14- Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Sprouts - light and fresh tasting.

Leaves-  stronger tasting similar to spinach or dark savoy leaves.

Buds - nutty.

Petals - light, slightly peppery.

Seeds - light nutty flavour. 

Sprouting shoots

Leaves

Flower buds (with green leafy base removed - thalamus and sepals)

Petals

Seeds

Sunflower sprouts are light and fresh tasting, great to add to salads, or as a topping for stir fries and soups. Older leaves can be used in the same way as other greens, steamed, boiled or sautéed. Prepare as you would other greens, by washing and tearing, being sure to remove the central vein as it’s pretty tough just like a Savoy cabbage.

Flower buds should be washed, thalamus and sepals removed before being steamed or blanched then served with butter or a light sauce as you would an artichoke. They taste quite nutty.

Petals can be removed, rinsed and sprinkled on salads, pasta or rice dishes.

The seeds can be made into a butter, sprinkled on salads, porridge, pasta and rice dishes as well as soups, used in muesli or just by the handful as a snack.

15- Tiger lily (Lilium leucanthemum var. tigrinum) 

Bulbs taste similar to turnip

Shoots and buds are light and slightly nutty.

Petals are delicately floral and fragrant with a slightly sweet taste.

Bulbs

Shoots

Flower buds

Petals

The bulbs can be roasted and served as a vegetable, they have a similar taste/texture to turnips.

Shoots and flower buds can be used in stir fries, petals can be used in salads.

If your cat is a plant eater, these are NOT safe for cats, will cause vomiting if eaten.

16- Alpine pinks (Dianthus) 

Warm spicey, similar to cloves

Petals

Remove petals from the thalamus base and sepals as this part is quite bitter, use petals in salads, drinks, to decorate cakes and biscuits. Freeze in ice cubes to add to drinks. Petals can also be crystalised or used to infuse a warm spicy flavour to sugar, vinegars and oils.

17- Borage (Borago offincinalis) 

Slightly reminiscent of cucumber.

Flowers and Young leaves

Young leaves can be washed, shredded and added to salads, avoid larger ones as the hairy leaves can be quite spikey.

The flowers can be used whole (pinch the middle and pull away from the plant leaving the hard thalamus and sepals behind) in salads, fruit salads, desserts and drinks, they can be used fresh or crystalised on cakes and biscuits and are super cute frozen into ice cubes to add to drinks.

18- Sweet violet (Viola odorata) 

Delicate floral scent and taste.

Flowers

infuse to make warm and cold drinks, use in salads, fruit salads, desserts, cakes and biscuits. Can also be crystalised or frozen in ice cubes to add to drinks.

19- Basil (Ocimum basilicum) 

Sweet and pungent

leaves and flowers

Most people are aware of the usefulness of basil leaves in cooking and the amazing taste they impart to salads,  ut the flowers too make a pretty addition to salads and as a garnish for pasta and rice dishes.can be added to ice cubes to add to drinks and crystalised and used to decorate cakes and biscuits.

20- Dill (Anethum graveolens) 

Mild aniseed type taste

Flowers

Leaves

Seeds

All can be used in Salads, added to vegetables, or vegetable dishes, soups, pasta and rice dishes or fish dishes. Can also be added to sauces, mayonnaise and pickles.

21- Courgette or marrow 

Delicate courgette taste

Flowers

Can be eaten raw in salads or cooked and eaten hot in a sauce, stuffed with cooked rice, cheese, nuts or meat. Use male flowers so as not to reduce yield of veg.

22- Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) 

Strong aniseed taste

All parts are edible 

Roast bulbs, use flowers and leaves in salads, sauces, fish dishes and vegetable dishes.

Flowers can be preserved in vinegar or oil.

23- Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) 

Mild onion taste

Stalks and flowers

Use in salads, egg and fish dishes, sauces etc.

24- Clover (Trifolium pratense) 

Mild bean type taste

Leaves and flowers

Both red and white clover flowers can be used in salads, fruit salads etc.  The leaves can be added to soups and stews.Red clover flowers can be used to make great wine, cordial or syrup.

25- Mint (Mentha sp) 

Strong fresh tasting.

Leaves and flowers

All mint flowers can all be used in sweet and savory dishes, sauces, used to infuse oils and vinegars as well as butter. Can be used to make cordials and syrup and be frozen in ice cubes to add to drinks. 

26- Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) 

Sweet pungent taste

Leaves and flowers

Flowers taste similar to the leaves and can be used in salads, sauces, tomato dishes, cold soups etc. They can be used to infuse butter and oils and can be frozen in ice cubes to add to drinks.

27- Garden pea (Pisum sativum) 

Fresh pea taste

Shoots and flowers

Both can be added to salads and add a fantastic fresh pea taste. 

28- Snap Dragon (Antirrhinum)

Mild to bitter

Flower petals

Add to salads or use as a garnish, not the best tasting flower although they sell them in quantity here in the salad section.

29- Honeysuckle (Lonicera)

Very sweet.

Flower petals only! 

Add flower petals to salads, fruit salads and desserts, add to ice cubes for drinks or use natural or crystalised flower petals on cakes and biscuits. DO NOT EAT ANY OTHER PART OF THE PLANT!

30- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Peppery

All parts are edible 

Flowers can be eaten raw in salads, added to stir fries, breaded or dipped I fine batter and fried. They can also be used to make jelly cordial, syrup and wine.

Use the roots steeped to make tea, and the green leaves raw in a salad or cooked in stews, casseroles or stir fried dishes.

31- Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)

Slightly sweet.

flowers and leaves

Camomile flowers can be added to salads and desserts but are best known for their soothing benefits when steeped in hot water to make a tea. They can also be used to make cordials and syrups.

32- Alliums

mild to strong onion

blossoms

All allium blossoms are edible, strength depends on type, leeks are mild whereas garlic flowers are pretty intense. Use in salads, stir fries etc. anywhere you want a milder taste of the bulb.

33- Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

Fresh, citrus/pepper taste.

Flowers, stems, leaves and seeds.

The flowers, stems and leaves of purslane can be eaten raw in salads. They may also be sautéed or steamed with other vegetables as a side dish or added to soups. Seeds can be eaten raw or ground and added to bread, biscuits etc. or to muesli. 

34- Angelica (Angelica archangelica)

Similar to juniper

All parts are edible

The seeds are used as a spicy warm accent in soups and tagines, Leaves and stems can be used in soups, stews and savory dishes, the stems can be candied or crystalised and used to decorate cakes and biscuits.The roots are used for herbal remedies but should only be used by those knowledgeable in the plants and Angelica should be avoided by those who are pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic or taking anticoagulants, the very young/elderly - if in doubt, do not use! 

35- Wild Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) & Cultivated Rocket (Eruca vesicaria)

Peppery taste

Leaves and flowers

Young rocket leaves are used fresh in salads, older leaves can be blanched and served like spinach, the older leaves have a much more pronounced peppery taste. Flowers have a mild peppery taste which isn’t  as hard hitting as the leaves and are great to add to salads.

36- Citrus blossoms - the blossoms from many different citrus trees. 

Light citrus taste and aroma with a slightly sharper aftertaste.

Blossoms

Add clean blossoms to sugar or honey to infuse with a mild citrus flavour, use to infuse vinegars and to make hot or cold drinks with water, can be used natural or crystalised to decorate cakes, biscuits etc. Can also be used when making cordials and syrups. 

37- Hyssop (hyssopus officinalis) & Anise Hyssop(Agastache foeniculum)

Aniseed/mint taste and smell

Leaves and flowers

Both can be used like other members of the mint family (which they are part of), anise has a far more aniseed taste, similar to fennel. Avoid use during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding

38- Busy Lizzies (Impatiens walleriana )

Sweet

Petals

Use fresh in salads and fruit salads, use fresh or crystalised to decorate cakes, biscuits and drinks, freeze into ice cubes to add to drinks.

39- Gladiolus 

Mild

Petals - remove anthers and all traces of pollen

Use petals raw in salads,  hopped and mixed in butter and soft cheese, or stuff with cold foods or soft cheese as a ready made edible container. Can also be cooked.

40- Yucca

Mild

All parts of some yuccas are edible but here I’m listing just the flowers. 

Can be eaten raw in salads, can be used in egg or cheese dishes, in tomato based dishes or sautéed. Also lovely dipped in a light tempura batter and fried, as you would with courgette flowers. They can also be used fresh or crystalised for decorating cakes. 

41- Tulip (Tulipa)

Mild, ranging from sweet through to stronger pea and bean like taste, taste and sweetness is dependent on the colour.

Petals

Use petals individually, remove the top as it tends to not taste as good as the rest. If you want to use the whole flower then remove the pistil, stamens and sepals before use.

use them in salads,as a garnish or stuff with cream cheeses, dips etc. for savory dishes. They can also be used in sweet dishes and look beautiful as a container for mousses, ice creams and similar. They can also be crystalised.

Some people can have a severe allergy to tulips, if touching tulips makes your hands or fingers itch then DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT THEM!

42- Hosta (all types)

Sweet floral

Flowers

The leaves of some hostas are edible but there are so many hostas it’s easier to just go for the flowers! 

Add to salads or fruit salads, use individual blooms fresh or crystalised to decorate cakes and biscuits.

43- Yarrow (Achillea millefollium)

Strong sweet, aniseed aroma with a mild taste.

Whole plant is useful but for culinary use stick to flowers and young leaves

Flowers and young leaves can be used in salads, fruit salads and desserts, they can also be used in soups, stews, pasta and rice dishes, egg and cheese dishes, add at the end of cooking as like many herbs the taste and aroma will be killed with high heat. Dry it and grind to use as a spice or add to oils and vinegars to infuse them with the lovely aroma. Avoid during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding.

44- Magnolia (grandiflora & 'Heaven Scent')

Taste is much like the smell.

Petals

Eat raw in salads, use to infuse sugar, oils and vinegars, pickle the petals, use them to a,e jams, jellies, cordials and syrups. Use a single bloom as a central decoration on a large cake either fresh or crystalised. 

45- Peony (Paeonia)

Floral soft spice

Flowers, buds and seeds.

The roots can also be used but I’m not going to talk about that,  why would you want to dig up the most beautiful thing to grace any garden!

Buds can be sautéed, flowers can be used for all manner of delicious treats; use to make, jams, jellie, wines, cordials and syrups. Use to infuse sugar, oils and vinegars,  crystalise for decorating cakes, or use fresh. use it to make ice cream, or in place of vanilla in rice pudding. Stuff a bottle with petals and fill with vodka or gin and a little sugar then leave for a couple of months or so, turning now and then to make a wonderful peony spirit. Seeds can be dried, ground and used in cooking and baking.

46- Fuchsia

A broad spectrum of flavours depending on the type of flower.

Flowers and berries

Flowers can be added to salads, used as cake and biscuits decorations, crystalised or added to ice cubes for drinks. Berries can be used to make jams, jellies, cordial, syrups and sauces.

47- Camellia japonica

No idea as I haven’t tried this one - yet! 

Flower

The flower can be used as a garnish but is more commonly dried and used in Japanese cuisine

48- Gardenia

Fragrant and mildly sweet.

Flowers and fruit

Flowers can be eaten raw in salads, used to decorate cakes either fresh or crystalised, they can be pickled or preserved in honey, used to make cordials or syrups. It can be infused to make a tea and can be used as a substitute for jasmine. The fruit is also edible and can be used for the above purposes it’s also used as a yellow colouring in cooking.

49- Lilac (Syringa spp. or vulgaris)

Highly floral and intense.

All parts are non toxic but for culinary use the flowers are the optimal part.

Although they can be eaten as they are the flowers are extremely strong and have an intense taste, they’re also a little astringent, so makes the mouth dry like cranberries do so for this reason they’re probably better used for flavouring and not for your salads. They do however make amazing jams and jellies, infuse sugars and honey, can be added to hot water in small amounts to make a floral tea. Individual flowers can be added to ice cubes for cold drinks. You can use lilac to make a floral liqueur as in sole gin/vodka (described above in peonies), it can be used in the same way as elderflower to make a lilac fizz, or cordial. It can be used to flavour flour in the same way as sugar and makes delicious shortbread using both. It can also be crystalised and used to decorate cakes and biscuits.

50- Begonia: tuberous (Begonia x tuberhybrida) and wax (B. x semperflorens-cultorum)

Citrus/slightly bitter taste.

Flowers

Flowers can be used in salads, as a garnish or to decorate cakes and biscuits, they can be crystalised too and can be added to ice cubes to serve in cold drinks.

Tuberous begonia flowers contain oxalic acid, so are to be avoided by people suffering from kidney stones, gout, or rheumatism.

51- Phlox (Phlox paniculata)

Mildly spicy 

Flowers

Add to salads and fruit salads, use fresh or crystalised to decorate cakes and biscuits.

Be sure to ONLY USE THIS PARTICULAR PHLOX as the other type isn’t edible.

52- Cornflower Centaurea cyanus - L.

Slightly sweet/spicy like a mild clove. 

Young shoots 

Flowers

Flowers can be added to salads, used as a garnish, used fresh or crystalised to decorate cakes and biscuits. Freeze into ice cubes to add to drinks, add to clear spirits like vodka or gin and leave to infuse with a lively cornflower blue, it’ll have little effect on the taste but will look pretty. It can be added to other flowers and leaves to make a herbal tea or used alone for a delicate tasting tea with a lovely blue colour. If bruised flowers are added to a small jar of alcohol and left to infuse it will give you a natural food colour that you can use in cooking/baking, this works if you make a sugar syrup too. 

53- Mallow (Malva neglecta)

Mild with no particular taste.

All parts are edible.

Add the flowers to salads, use to decorate cakes either fresh or crystalised.

The leaves can also be added to salads, as always the younger leaves are better tasting. The fruit, like those of nasturtiums can be used as a substitute for capers, or you can eat them raw in salads or alone.

The leaves hold a culinary secret and when you cook them they’re mucilaginous, meaning they make a gelatinous mucus that can be used to thicken soups, stews and sauces without changing the taste; this is due to the polysaccharides it contains that swell in water (similar to chia seeds)

The leaves can also be used to make a soothing herbal tea, albeit a little nondescript and bland. If you boil mallow root in water it makes an even thicker gelatinous liquid that can be whisked and used as an egg white substitute in vegan cooking, again down to those slippery polysaccharides! 

54- Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)

Mild, sweet

Petals

The petals can be used in salads and dried to use in cooking, it adds colour and is used as a natural dye. It is sometimes used as a cheaper replacement for ‘Saffron’ but the strength of taste is extremely mild in comparison so it’s not a feasible taste substitute. They make a pretty garnish and can be used to colour dishes. Use them to decorate cakes and biscuits. 

55- Mimosa Silk 

Tree (Albizia julibrissin f. rosea,)

Aromatic

Leaves

Flowers

Do NOT eat the seeds as they are poisonous! 

Flower blossoms can be cooked and served as a vegetable they can also be crystalised and used to decorate cakes (they’re a truly beautiful little flower), the young leaves can be used as a herb in cooking, they can also be dried and used to make a tea.

56- Stocks (Matthiola incana)

Perfumed

Flower Petals

Flowers can be cooked and used as a vegetable, added to salads or used as a garnish, they can be used fresh or  to decorate cakes and biscuits.

The flower seed pods arcrystalisede also edible. 

57- Forget-Me-Not (Sylvatica)

mildly sweet and spicy.

Flowers

Use these pretty little flowers in salads, as decorations for cakes and biscuits either fresh or crystalised. Add them to ice cubes for cold summer drinks.

Forget-Me-Nots contain some pyrrolizidine, a mildly toxic chemical that if ingested in large quantities, can cause harm. Avoid during pregnancy!

58- Alyssum    (Lobularia maritima)

Pungent

Leaves

Flowers

Add young leaves and flowers to salads, use flowers as a decorative garnish.

59- Marigold (Tagetes patula, Tagetes tenuifolia, Tagetes patula x erecta)

Pungent/bitter, they taste as they smell

Flowers

Leaves

Can be added to salads but they aren’t top of the best tasting flowers, added to which, Marigolds may be harmful in large amounts so should only be eaten occasionally and in moderation - not that you’d want to eat a large amount! 

60- Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora)

Citrus

Leaves

Flowers

Young leaves can be eaten raw or wilted like spinach, they’re also used to flavour drinks, pasta, rice fish and egg dishes, to add to salads, in sauces and dressing. The flowers like the leaves can be used to make tea, the flowers being slightly sweeter. The flowers are also used in salads or to decorate cakes and biscuits either fresh or crystalised.

61- Jasmine (Jasminum officinale)

Highly floral

Flowers

Use in small quantities to make a tea, crystalise the flowers to use for decorating cakes, biscuits and dessert. Add to ice cubes to serve in cold drinks.

Only this type of jasmine is safe for culinary use, all others are poisonous!

62- Evening Primrose Herb

(Oenothera Biennis)

Flowers are sweet, roots range from sweet to peppery

Roots

Leaves

Flowers

Seeds

Young roots can be peeled and boiled for around 25 minutes and served with butter or a creamy sauce. Young leaves can be wilted and eaten like spinach, Evening Primrose flowers are sweet and can be added to salads or used as a garnish, they can be used fresh or crystalised to decorate cakes, biscuits and desserts. Young seed pods can be served steamed. The seeds can be dried in the oven and used in baking or sprinkled on salads and muesli.

63- Alkanet (Anchusa azurea)

(Anchusa officinalis)

(Alkanna tinctoria)

Predominant used for the colour from the roots.

Bland, slightly peppery

Flowers (young leaves can be used but to be honest they’re not worth the effort).

Add to salads, use fresh or crystalised to decorate cakes and biscuits, use individual blooms in ice cubes for cold summer drinks.

Roots are used for dye, ‘tinctoria’ is grown specifically for this use. 

64- Amaranth (many types)

Leaves are similar to spinach

Seeds are nutty 

Leaves

Seeds

Leaves can be used raw in salads or blanched like spinach, they can be added to soups and stews or used in omelettes. The seeds can be dried and ground to make flour or used like quinoa, cooked in water or stock or added to porridge. 

65- Dahlia (all varieties are potentially edible)

Taste varies by type and for tubers by storage time, longer storage equates to sweeter tubers.

Flower petals 

Tubers

Petals can be served in salads, used as garnishes or to decorate cakes etc. either fresh or crystalised. Tubers are cooked and used in the same way as potatoes or Jerusalem artichokes, it’s hit and miss as to which tubers will taste good and which are likely to give you wind but longer storage seems to equate to a sweeter tasting tube from the articles I’ve read. I don’t mind using a few of my precious dahlia petals for salads etc. but I love them too much to use the tubers for food (I’ve tried it once but prefer to keep them for flowering).