PHOTOS BY DENISE CATHEY
The buzz of honeybees is in the air. Cool breezes off the coast waft through your hair. Days start and end with sunlight.
Spring is a heady time here, with all sorts of locally grown produce available to fill your kitchen table. However, there is one product that you might not have ever considered eating — flowers.
So in spring, let us leap into the proverbial flower garden together. There is more here than you might think.
EDIBLE FLOWERS?
Before you raid your garden for goodies, be aware that not all flowers are edible. Edible flowers can be consumed, either the whole flower head or the petals, but they must be free of pesticides and other chemicals that are unsafe for ingestion.
Popular flowers that do double duty in bouquets and on the plate this season are: marigolds, calendulas, nasturtiums, johnny jump ups, rose-scented geraniums, bachelor buttons, bee balms, cosmos, zinnias, mammoth sunflowers, roses and some varieties of hibiscus.
Flower grower Rebecca Rodriguez, of Bequita’s Blooms & Botanicals in Harlingen, enjoys bright orange marigolds on salads as a garnish or in cold margaritas on the rocks.
“I like marigolds. They are very fragrant, and they have almost a peppery spice to them,” she says.
For kitchen-produce gardeners, some of the plants you already grow often create edible flowers.
Zucchini, tatume squash, borage, broccoli, coriander, cilantro, garlic and onion chives, arugula and cucumber all produce flowers with unique tastes.
According to David Vasquez, the program manager of urban farms and community gardens at the Brownsville Wellness Coalition, cucumber blossoms are a treat that tastes like cucumbers.
“It is almost a delicacy because you have to catch it early,” he says, because of their short life.
Along with edibles in your garden, the Valley has a few native plants that you can enjoy if you know where to look for them, says Bianca Banda, a park ranger interpreter at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in Mission. Every month, Banda leads programs and walking tours to help visitors experience the park and nature in new ways, including through taste.
Fans of the drink agua de Jamaica, made from hibiscus, will be pleased to know that the Valley has a native alternative to hibiscus with a similar taste, Banda says.
“Here we have something very closely related that you can do the same thing [with], called Turk’s cap,” she says.
The red flower mimics the look of an unopened hibiscus, which flowers year-round, but especially in summer.
The most famous of our native edible flowers, however, is the Spanish dagger, a species of yucca that flowers only once or twice a year between April and early August. The flowers, considered a delicacy, have the flavor and texture of sweet onion.
Traditionally these are eaten either opened or unopened, but if the flower has bloomed, just the petals should be consumed, not the entire flower. Usually, they are the breakfast companion of eggs and served with either tomatoes or salsa.
GROW YOUR OWN
If you have the itch to create an edible flower garden, several plants are a cinch to grow, even for the most hopelessly black-thumbed among us. Farmer Dave recommends planting chamomile, cilantro, zinnias, borages, marigolds and/or nasturtiums to start.
All of these plants require about 55 to 80 days to yield usable flowers, so there is plenty of time to enjoy them before the summer heat sets in. Just be sure not to spray them with pesticides, otherwise, they will not be safe to eat.
Denise Cathey is a reporter and photojournalist living in Brownsville. A native Texan, she has an ingrained love of whiskey, BBQ and the truly odd. Currently, she’s on a quest for the ultimate al pastor. Follow her on Instagram @denisecatheyphoto.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FLOWER FARM
If gardening is not your , say, cup of edible flower tea, you may purchase edible flowers from these local flower farmers:
Acres of Harmony Flower Farm
At the Brownsville Farmers’ Market or by phone at (956) 245-9989
Brownsville Wellness Coalition
At the Brownsville Farmers’ Market
Bequita’s Blooms & Botanicals
At 15516 Hwy. 107, Harlingen Fridays, 9AM-6PM, Saturdays, 10AM-4PM or by phone at (956) 320-8575
Wild August Nursery & Flower Farm
To inquire call (956) 535-2117 or email: Flowers@wildaugust.com
