Edible flowers bring joy to any dish. They are beautiful and have unique flavour profiles as well as helping to entice small people to eat their meal. Here is our take on some of the best edible flowers that can be wild harvested here in New Zealand, or seeded in your own garden pretty easily.
Borage has beautiful blue and white, star-shaped flowers that you can use in any dish. A wonderful way to use them in summer is to freeze them in ice cubes for a pretty garnish for your drinks. They have a cucumber-like taste and go great in salads. You’ll find borage at pretty much every community garden.
Bees adore borage, so definitely think about adding them to your own garden! It’s one of the best edible flowers as it’s very easy to grow from seed and, once established, produces multiple flushes of flowers.
How to grow: You can start seeding borage from early spring through to Autumn in New Zealand. Borage likes the soil temperature to be above 18 and will take about 7-14 days to germinate. When planting out seedlings, space them about 30cm apart; they can grow up to 60cm.
This edible flower is super easy to grow and very hardy. Its bright,beautiful flowers can be added to salads, quiches, baking, or drinks. The petals have a slightly sweet buttery taste with a hint of pepper. You could also add them to pastry or cookies to make a bright and exciting addition to school lunches.
This is another of our favourite edible flowers because it has some amazing health benefits. Calendula is anti-inflammatory and supports your lymphatic system to move out waste. That’s why we use organiccalendula grown locally here in Dunedin for our Liver Bitters.
How to Grow: You can start seeding calendula from early spring through to Autumn. It likes soil temperature to be over 18 degrees and will take about a week to germinate. It prefers full sun and when planting out the seedlings place them about 20cm away from each other.
Viola’s edible flowers come in many colours, they have small wee flowers that have a nice taste and make any dish look happier. Violas can be added to ice cubes, or salads to make them look more impressive. They tolerate the cold well.
How to Grow: You can start seeding violas from early spring through to Autumn. It likes soil temperature to be over 18 degrees and will take between 5-12 days to germinate. It prefers full sun and when planting out the seedlings place them about 15cm away from each other.
4 Nasturtium
Both the flower and the leaves of nasturtium are edible. You can make a weed pesto with the leaves, and add the flowers to salads, rice salads, pastas and stir-fries. Bees like this beautiful bright flower as well.
This is one of the best edible flowers in New Zealand to wild forage because nasturtium grows prolifically as a weed. You can find it all over Aotearoa, and once you know what you're looking for, you'll start seeing it everywhere!
How to Grow: You can start seeding nasturtium from early spring through to Autumn. It likes soil temperature to be over 18 degrees and will take between 10-14 days to germinate. It prefers full sun, and when planting out the seedlings, place them about 30cm away from each other.
5 Courgette
If you can - you could sacrifice a few courgettes and use the flower as an exciting meal. Stuff with cheese, crumb and deep fry for a decadent dish! Using this beautiful edible yellow flower is a great way to reduce the courgette glut you get toward the end of the summer season.
How to Grow: You can start seeding courgettes from early spring through early summer. It likes soil temperature to be over 20 degrees and will take between 5-12 days to germinate. It prefers full sun, and when planting out the seedlings, place them about 60cm away from each other.
6 Lavender
With lavender, a little goes a long way. Make a lavender syrup and add it to sparkling water, or add it to a vanilla cake for a floral hint. You can also add to shortbread or imprint on butter cookies. Lavender is a bit harder to grow in the cold, it likes the sun and drier spots.
How to Grow: I would recommend buying a seedling - and placing it in a warm sunny spot.
7 Rose petals
Rose petals are edible and make the most beautiful addition to chocolate cakes, or as a syrup that can be drizzled on ice cream or yoghurt. They can be added to cookies or used as a decoration on baking. Roses take a while to be established, but if you have a rose bush and some of the blooms are not vase-worthy, save the petals for something culinary.
How to grow: I would recommend buying a seedling and letting that grow. Rose seedlings come with information on where best to plant and how to care for it.
8 Dill flowers
Dill flowers are so aromatic and can be easily added to salads and pastas and used as a garnish. They have a beautiful yellow umbrella-like structure and grow prolifically.
How to Grow: You can start seeding dill from early spring through to Autumn. It likes soil temperature to be over 15 degrees and will take between 7-21 days to germinate. When planting out the seedlings, place them about 5cm away from each other.
9 Chive flowers
Chives have a tasty, bright purple flower that have an onion like flavour that is milder than the green stalks of the chive plant. You can add them into salads, pasta or soups.
How to Grow: You can start seeding Chives in New Zealand from early spring through to Autumn. It likes soil temperature to be over 18 degrees and will take between 7-14 days to germinate. When planting out the seedlings place them about 5cm away from each other.
10 Fennel flowers
Similar to dill flowers, fennel flowers can be added to dips, soups, pasta, and seafood dishes. This is one of the best edible flowers in New Zealand as they're easy to wild forage, super versatile and have a lovely aniseed flavour.
How to Grow: You can start seeding fennel from early spring through to Autumn. It likes soil temperature to be over 18 degrees and will take between 7-14 days to germinate. When planting out the seedlings, place them about 10cm away from each other.
The beautiful thing about edible flowers is that they make any meal special; there are no rules with how you use them - you do you! As with anything, though - make sure you identify the flower first!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge this is really helpful!
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by Sue Morgan
Thank you all for the great work you do producing these amazing teaching emails. Your passion and generosity for sharing is so thoughtful and very much appreciated. Congratulations on your recent win. Fantastic news and well deserved. I could never stomach Chamomile tea until I tried the Pukka Organic 3 Chamomile brand and fell in love with it. I have grown it in the past but don’t have it growing in my present garden. However I am keen to grow some and try your bitters recipe. I use your Liver Bitters regularly and I know it is helping. Once again thank you for your love of nature , herbs, healing and educating us with love and passion. Warmest regards. Sue.
