EDIBLE & MEDICINAL FLOWERS
Here's a variety of edible flowers that can can be used in your edible garden. Many of these mix well in the vegetable garden.
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Marigolds - Annual. Flavor ranges from tangy to bitter.
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Calendula - Herbal. Slightly bitter taste. Used to treat abdominal cramps and constipation. Extracts may have anti-viral and anti-flammatory properties.
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Chrysanthemum - Tangy flavor, slightly bitter. Yellow or white chrysanthemum flowers are boiled to make a sweet drink in some parts of Asia. Chrysanthemum tea has many medicinal uses, including an aid in recovery from influenza.
Chrysanthemum leaves are steamed or boiled and used as greens, especially in Chinese cuisine.
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Rose damascena - Sweet flavored. Petals are used for decorations, color, and of course, to eat.
Damascus roses are used in cooking as a flavouring ingredient or spice. It appears as one of the ingredients in the Moroccan spice mixture known as ras el hanout. Rose water and powdered roses are used in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking. Rose water is often sprinkled on many meat dishes, while rose powder is added to sauces. The most popular use, however, is in the flavoring of desserts such as ice cream, jam, Turkish delights, rice pudding, yogurt and etc. Chicken with rose is a popular dish in Persian cuisine. Western cookery today does not make much use of roses or rose water. However, it was a popular ingredient in ancient times and continued to be popular well into the Renaissance. In the west, it was most commonly used in desserts. Many traditional desserts in Europe, however, still make use of roses, such as Marzipan or Turrón.
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Hibiscus - Not common in Asheville, but around. Cranberry like flavor with a citrus overtone. Hibiscus is also a primary ingredient in many herbal teas.
Hibiscus, especially White Hibiscus and Red hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), is considered to have medicinal properties in the Indian traditional system of medicine, Ayurveda. Roots make various concoctions believed to cure ailments such as cough. The flowers are boiled in oil along with other spices to make a medicated hair oil to prevent greying and hair loss. The leaves and flowers are ground into a fine paste with a little water and the resulting lathery paste is used as a shampoo plus conditioner.
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Pansy - Slightly sweet flavor.
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Daylily - Slightly sweet with a mild vegetable flavor in the bright yellow, orange, and peach colors. Slightly bitter in the darker colors. Sweeter in the pale yellow and orange colors. Typically used in Chinese cuisine.
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Lavendar - Culinary and medicinal uses. Sweet flavored with a lemon and citrus overtone. Lavender flowers are occasionally blended with black, green, or herbal tea adds a fresh, relaxing scent and flavor. Lavender lends a floral and slightly sweet flavor to most dishes, and is sometimes paired with sheep's-milk and goat's-milk cheeses. For most cooking applications the dried buds (also referred to as flowers) are used, though some chefs experiment with the leaves as well. Only the buds contain the essential oil of lavender, which is where the scent and flavour of lavender are best derived. Essential oil of lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflamatory properties. It was used in hospitals during WW1 to disinfect floors and walls. These extracts are also used as fragrances for bath products.
According to folk wisdom, lavender has many uses. Infusions of lavender soothes, heal insect bites and burns. Bunches of lavender repel insects. Source: Wikipedia
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Nasturtium - Annual. Spicy, peppery flavor. Pungent watercress-like taste. These grow very well in the Asheville area and make a great addition to any garden. Nasturtiums are also considered widely useful companion plants. They repel a great many cucurbit pests, like squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and several caterpillars. They have a similar range of benefits for brassica plants, especially broccoli and cauliflower. They also attract black fly aphids, and are sometimes planted in the hope of saving crops susceptible to them (as a trap crop). They may also attract beneficial predatory insects. Source: Wikipedia
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Violets - Grow abundantly around the Asheville area. Sweet flavor. Viola flowers may be used to decorate salads or in stuffings for poultry or fish. Soufflés, cream and similar desserts can be flavoured with essence of Viola flowers. The young leaves are edible raw or cooked as a somewhat bland leaf vegetable. The flowers and leaves of the cultivar 'Rebecca', one of the Violetta violets, has a distinct vanilla flavor with hints of wintergreen, however, that is quite delicious in salads.
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Borage - Tastes similar to cucumber and the bees love it too.