While you can find these bright little numbers at the farmers market and some grocery stores, growing them at home is all the more rewarding. Picking edible flowers from your own organic garden is often the safer move, too, as you’ll be confident that they were grown without chemical herbicides or pesticides. However, as always, you’ll want to be confident a flower is actually edible before you pop it on your plate. (If you aren’t sure, skip it!) You should also gently wash all your flowers before consuming them, and try a small bite of any new petal at first, just in case you’re allergic. When choosing which pick-and-eat flowers to plant in your garden, Allison Vallin Kostovick, the organic gardener behind Finch & Folly farm in Maine, says the more the merrier. Planting multiple varieties ups your odds that at least one will produce an edible haul, even if wonky weather hits. Here are a few starter options to look into—all of which taste as lush as they look. Though when some edible plants flower, or bolt, it can affect their flavor, she finds that Thai and purple basils are still tasty after they shoot out their colorful blossoms. “They make stunning little flowers that are very attractive and long-lasting if you cut a tall stem,” Viljoen tells mbg. These flowers also tend to attract pollinators, so be sure to keep a few in the ground for a more wildlife-friendly garden. And save at least a stem or two to re-root for next year: “If you keep it in water for long enough, you’ll have a new basil plant to take outside,” Viljoen says. Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
