Edible flowers are the ultimate gardening mix

The easiest way to turn a kitchen garden into a colourful paradise is to grow flowers along with vegetables. Many vegetables have flowers you can eat EG: beans, peas, members of the allium family ( onions, chives and leeks), brassicas, squashes, chicories, salsify, scorzonera, corn salad and many more. Herbs to such as thyme, fennel, lavender and rosemary are a rich source of flavoured blooms. Along with these add a list of edible flowering plants from the common place nasturtium to the exotic yucca and the choice is huge.

Anise hyssop

This erect branching plant boasts lovely,dense spikes of lavender flowers ( occasionally pink or white in colour) in summer up to 15cm (6″) long. Bees love it and the gentle aniseed flavour that comes from the leaves and blooms, hence it is used in cooking, salads and for flavouring drinks.

A hardy self seeding perennial dying down in autumn, it will not survive much below -5C (23F), unless it is protected. In mild climates, sow in situ in autumn, but in cooler areas start the tiny seed off indoors in spring, planting in a sunny place in early summer 45cm (18″) apart. It will flower in its first season. Cut the flower spikes as they fade to encourage a second flush.

English Daisy

This unassuming brightly coloured daisy, a sophisticated form of the little white lawn flower has been used in salads for centuries. The leaves form a compact rosette, making it an excellent edging plant. Its main flowering season is from late spring to midsummer and the flowers come in shades of pink, red, crimson or white. Ranging in size from small double blooms to large pompom types.

Although perennial the daisy is best grown as a biennial, but if the plants seem to be deteriorating towards the end of the season, pull them up  and replant the edge with lettuce or winter pansies. Sow in summer in situ ( in warm climates) or in a seed tray, planting out when large enough to handle, 15-23cm (6-9″) apart. The English Daisy grows almost anywhere except in very dry situations. Keep plants deadheaded to encourage continuous flowering and a second flush in late summer.

Borage

Although it has bristly stems and leaves and the downy hairs on the sepals give it a dreamy, misty quality, Borage is a robust annual plant. It grows tall and flowers a mass of tiny star shaped blue blossom during spring to autumn,(There is a rarer white flowered variety).

Think carefully about where you position it, the brittle stems collapse in heavy rain or wind and can crush surrounding plants. In temperate climates you need to sow Borage only once in a lifetime. Sow in summer in situ or in seed trays, planting out 5-8cm (2-3″) apart

Pot Marigold

Gloriously colourful and easily grown, pot marigold has a long history of culinary and medicinal use. Traditional varieties were yellow and orange, but the modern colour range extends from pink, apricot to mahogany. Some of my favorites are “Orange King, Indian Prince and Neon”

Let Pot Marigold grow casually among vegetables, where it will attract beneficial insects, or among flowers or herbs in informal beds. It looks superb mingling with the burnished gold of dill and fennel. Sow in spring either in seed trays, planting out when 5cm (2″) in height or in situ thinning early to 25cm (10″) apart. Keep plants deadheaded to prolong flowering into late summer.

Other colourful edible flowers

• Pineapple guava large shrub producing crimson and white flowers
• Hollyhock available in a range of colours
• Alkanet clear blue flowers
• Tuberous rooted begonias broad spectrum of colours
• Florist’s chrysanthemum wonderful range of flower types and colours, mainly blooming in late summer and autumn
• Sweet woodruff a useful ground cover plant with star shaped leaves and bright white flowers
• Daylilies wide range of shades in the yellow to red spectrum
• Yucca spikes of white bloom
• Houttuynia ground cover plant with white flowers and heart shaped leaves
• Lavender bushes with blue, pink and white blooms
• Bergamot scarlet, pink or near white flowers
• Scented leaved geraniums wide range of fragrant leaved varieties
• Roses bushes and climbers, all fragrant petals are usable
• Clary sage pastel, lilac, pink and creamy flower spikes
• Elderflower hedgerow shrub with masses of creamy flowers
• Signet marigold small yellow and orange flowers
• Society garlic lilac flowers with mild garlic flavour
• Carnations wide range of shades in white, pink and crimson often with a wonderful fragrance.

Visit a wide range of modern roses from MyGardenCenterOnline, Rose Garden, Climbing roses, Hybrid tea,Floribunda, roses, Shrub roses and Rose Collections. Also look at a wide range of Perennials, Daylily, Geranium and a full section of Fall Bulbs, Allium, Amaryllis, Anemone, Crocus, Daffodil, Hyacinth, Iris, Ixia, Lily, Tulip