I started The Edible Flower Shop after deciding to leave my full-time job and work from home after having my son. The idea for The Edible Flower Shop was inspired by a dinner out at a local pub many years ago where they served beautiful salad garnishes adorned with flowers. I have to admit that I was pretty hesitant at first, as I had never tried eating flowers before and wondered if they should be left on the side of the plate! I found that they were delicious as well as beautiful and decided that I would try growing some for myself.
This was easier said than done; the garden centres had very few packets of seeds which identified which grew edible flowers, and I was not confident that I could pick out the right ones myself. I decided that if I was finding this a problem then others probably would be as well.
I live in a small cottage in mid-Devon and have a very small garden. Given the limited growing space I thought it would be best to grow flowers that would be useful as well as pretty, in addition to the small amount of vegetables I grew. The first edible flower I grew was Borage. It produces a vivid blue star-shaped flower which grows in abundance, and self-seeds for next year. The taste is a cross between peppery and cucumber and the bees absolutely love it! Another flower we tried in the beginning was chive flowers. The beautiful purple flowers taste just as good as chives, with a mild onion flavour, and look stunning when added to any savoury dish.
My husband and I were lucky enough to get an allotment a few years ago and so our vegetables have moved. We have planted out a number of edible flowers at the allotment, for companion planting, to encourage the bees and to make the allotment stand out from the others. We get a beautiful display of flowers to look at and eat; what could be better! We have also found that there are many herbs and vegetables which flower, both before and after the vegetables have been harvested. Instead of adding these to the compost heap we make meals from http://customessaywriter.co.uk/ them – and they taste fantastic. Some of our favourites include pea flowers which are crunchy and sweet, broccoli flowers which are delicious in stir fries and salads, and of course courgette flowers which can be stuffed, to make a meal in their own right.
The Edible Flower Shop itself is still growing. If there are any other flowers, herbs or vegetables you would like to see added to our range then please let me know. Any comments you have are welcomed.