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A tasty treat: 5 flowers you can eat

There's no doubt flowers are stunning to look at. Their spectacular colours and vibrant shapes make them a true feast for the eyes. But did you know that there are some flowers that are more than just sweet smelling and nice to look at? Here are some popular flowers that are also edible.

Violet 

Vibrant and beautiful from its rich blue-purple colouring to its sweetheart shaped leaves, violets are a totally edible wildflower. Violets are used in teas and jellies, and have occasionally been candied and served as decorative garnishing on wedding cakes and cupcakes.

Honeysuckle 

These flowers bloom in the summer and you can smell them a mile away! In addition to the sugary sweet nectar you can suck from the bottom of the flower, its creamy-white petals are edible too. You might like to consider picking a few of these flowers for your summer desserts and fruit salads.

Sakura (cherry blossoms)

Cherry blossoms are a delicate Japanese icon, blooming beautifully across the country in the spring. Sakura (the Japanese name for the blossoms) are actually as efficiently edible as they are beautiful to behold. They have a subtle flowery flavor that adds a little touch of magic to any meal. Often the flowers and petals are used as a decoration for sweets, loaves of bread, or simply to be cooked with rice. The Japanese pickle their Sakuras in a salty liquid to be used later in Sakura tea.

Elderflower

Surely you have heard of elderflower tea? Well the flowers by themselves are just as enjoyable! The elder tree's frothy, fragrant bunches of blossoms can be used to make tea, liqueur, syrup, jam, and even desert vinegar. Elderflowers are a treat with raspberries!

Dandelion

The humble dandelion might just be another garden weed, but it happens to be the most edible flower of the lot! The stalk, leaves, buds and fully-blossomed flowers are all completely edible. Chefs often add a few flowers to decorate soups and salads, and the buds are (apparently) quite delicious when fried in butter. Bunnies are the biggest fans of the flower: if you hand a dandelion plant over for rabbit consumption...it’ll be gone in sixty seconds!