Edible flowers are making a comeback in celebrity chefs' cookery books and in stylish restaurants. Salads are a wonderful way to enjoy the color and flavor of flowers.

Adding flowers to your salads is sure to be a talking point among your guests, and they will enjoy a pleasant surprise when they taste them! All though many people consider flowers to be an unusual addition to a salad, in Continental Europe, flowers such as marigolds, primroses and nasturtiums are often served in salads, or as a decoration for other dishes.

Add flowers to other salad ingredients, or sprinkle them over the top of your salad at the last minute so they look their best, rather than smothered in dressing! You may like to add a little rosewater to your salad dressing to enhance the floral flavors of your salad.

Take care to identify your flower correctly, as some flowers as toxic, and ensure that the plants have not been treated with potentially dangerous chemicals. Avoid shop bought flowers unless they are clearly sold in the produce section of your store. Wash your flowers or petals in fresh water and dry using a tea towel or salad spinner before use.

Many of these plants may be easily raised from seed, nasturtiums and marigolds are colorful and easy to grow, great flowers for your kids to grow from seed!

Many flowers may also be used in delicious, fragrant Home Made Flower Wines, and Crystalized Flowers are a lovely, personal way to decorate your cakes. To ensure you have a ready supply of edible flowers, and other salad ingredients, with minimum work, why not grow a Permaculture Forest Garden?

Violets

Add violets to pale salad ingredients, such as iceberg lettuce, to add color and a delicate flavor.

Nasturtiums

Grow nasturtiums in a variety of vivid colors for your salads. The flowers add a wonderful peppery taste to any salad.

Rose Petals

Add a sprinkling of garden rose petals to your salads, the choice of colors is very wide, and they add an exotic touch.

Marigolds (Calendula Officinalis)

Marigold flowers have been used in herbal medicine for a long time, and these cheerful, bright blooms make a lovely addition to a mixed salad.

Primroses

Primroses are delicate flowers that do not have a strong flavor. They look lovely scattered over a spring salad.

Elderflower

Elderflower has a delicate, fragrant taste which varies from plant to plant. Pick on a warm sunny day to enjoy the most intense flavor. Cut the small blossoms from the stems which should be discarded. You may like to steep the flowers in vinegar before adding them to your salads.

Red Clover

Break red clover flowers into florets and add sparingly to salads. A delicious combination is to use a few red clover florets with a small amount of chopped mint, and a larger quantity of milder salad ingredients.