How to Create an Edible Garden

Vegetable gardens aren't the only place to grow food. You can create an edible garden just about anywhere and display it front and center like you would a floral garden. Edible gardens can be both practical and beautiful, so follow these suggestions for how to create one.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Invest in herbs, which are both edible and produce flowered blooms. Consider planting sage, thyme, basil and chives. Be sure to cook with herbs that are fresh and fragrant.

2. Prepare a salad using regular garden-variety chrysanthemums. Your dinner guests will hardly believe that the daisy-like flowers are completely edible. Grow the Asian variety, Shungiku, and fix in a stir-fry or herbal tea.

3. Grow fuschia, and serve it as a garnish to grilled meats and vegetables.

4. Sprinkle marigolds in soups or pasta. Their flavor ranges from tangy to peppery and is often referred to as the "poor man's saffron."

5. Use the sweet tasting petals of the carnation flower as accent pieces on cakes or other desserts, or steep them in wine.

6. Infuse wines and sauces with lavender, or incorporate the blossoms into sweet dishes, such as ice cream and sorbet.

7. Float sweet-tasting peony petals in drinks, such as punch or tea.

Tips & Warnings

• Always proceed with caution when growing edible flowers. Be sure to identify positively any flower you are planning to eat and treat the plant as you would a plant in your vegetable garden. Never consume a plant that grows in soil contaminated with animal or environmental waste.
• Be certain that the edible plant has not been sprayed with chemicals.