Heart's
Ease (above) is what my English mum, gardener and botanist, called those pretty, small Viola known here in Australia as Johnny
Jump Ups. Also known as wild pansy, Viola
tricola is a sweet, hardy annual but rather fond of self-sowing with
abandon, otherwise I'd grow it - the lovely dark purple form grown in the
1970's without too much yellow (or other colours) as well. Just pick to add to
salads or decorate cakes; the flowers can be eaten whole.
Larger
Viola - pansies (above) - in all the colours
of the rainbow (bar true blue or bright red) just don't self-sow as much, if at
all. So I can grow them in my edible patch which is a hop, skip and a (Johnny)
jump from lovely bushland. We're lucky enough to live amongst the gums and the
wattles and many wild orchids, so we try to be responsible.
And
it's so much fun to add lemon pansies to a gold chard bed, and black ones
amongst Tuscan kale and purple broccoli. (The yellow crucifer kale flowers are
probably edible...I'll keep you posted.) Pansies are large flowers so perhaps
use sparingly.
Lavender
flowers (above) can be eaten too; just pull apart the clustered blooms and sprinkle
onto chocolate cake....mmm. The tiny flowers can be added to drinks too, but in
moderation - they have a strong floral flavour. I like having lavenders in the
veg patch; not just pretty and edible plants, they attract bees too.
Bergamot,
or Monarda didyma, is sometimes known
as bee balm and has pretty pink or red flowers in summer, occasionally mauve.
Pull off the petals then add to cakes, drinks and salads. I haven't tried the
young leaves but these are said to be edible too and when dried can make a
herbal tea.
Borage is well known for its edible flowers. The starry sky-blue flowers can, famously, be frozen into ice cubes and, yes, added to drinks. Like lemon, lime and bitters. Mmm. Borago officionalis is an annual herb and (sadly for me) flings seeds around generously. But if you grow it, then salads will look pretty with a sprinkling of these pretty blooms, or use a couple of sprigs to decorate cheese platters.
Anise
Hyssop, or Agastache, a mint
relative, is a perennial with pink or lilac flowers in summer and autumn, which
attract butterflies. The mauve-flowering Agastache foeniculum has edible flowers
(and the soft, anise-scented leaves are said to be used as a seasoning, as
a tea and in potpourri). Pull off the tubular petals
and scatter in salads or in drinks for a dash of colour and mildly liquorice
flavour. This perennial is handy as it blooms after many other herbs have
declined, but I am not sure if the hybrids, like this pink variety `Sangria' (above) are
edible too. Munchers beware!
Lastly
English daisy (above), Bellis perennis, a
small plant with sweet little flowers, white and pink-backed. I love seeing
this sweet perennial scattered through a lawn but as a fairly prolific
generator of new little plants, it, obviously, doesn't grow here at Possum
Creek. I enjoy it in the gardens of city friends who use the tiny petals (the
whole flower is edible, if bitter). But I'd use the whole flower on cakes;
they're just so pretty.
So
jazz up cakes, soups, drinks and especially salads with some of these
edible flowers. Some in moderation, but some, like Heart's Ease, can be
scattered densely and look oh-so-wonderful!
Jill Weatherhead is
horticulturist, writer, garden designer and principal at Jill Weatherhead Garden Design
who lives in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, and works throughout Victoria.
(www.jillweatherheaddesign.com.au)
