1. Violets/Violas

Violets/Violas are sweet with a floral taste. The edible violet/viola plant can be used to make syrups, brew teas, be added in baked desserts and as garnishes on cakes. Flowers can also be added to salads and soups as garnish.

2. Lavender

Lavender’s initial sensory impact is a strong floral flavour and aroma, with subtle notes of herbaceousness, earthiness, and mint. Different varieties have undertones of fruit, smoke and woodiness. Use the complex culinary herb in moderation. Try it in hearty stews and wine-reduced sauces. It also adds a delightful scent to custards, flans or sorbets, and makes a beautiful garnish for salads, desserts and cocktails.

3. Marigolds

Marigolds have a refreshing lemony flavour with subtle spice. They add vibrant colour to dishes, and can be eaten raw or cooked and used in everything from savoury dishes to desserts, teas and cocktails.

4. Rose

Rose’s flavour depends on type, colour and soil conditions. While petals are intensely perfumed, their flavour is subtler and a bit fruity (think strawberries and green apples), with complex undertones ranging from fruit to mint to spice. The darker the petals the more pronounced the flavour. The miniature varieties are a beautiful garnish to ice cream and desserts. Larger petals can be sprinkled on desserts or salads. Petals can be used in syrups, jellies and sweet spreads. Be sure to remove the bitter white portion of the petals before using.

5. Pansies

Pansies are one of the most popular edible flowers, both because you can eat their sepals and because they come in such a wide array of vibrant colours. They have a fresh, slightly spicy, grassy and wintergreen undertone, which makes them a wonderful addition to salads, and they add a great splash of colour. They are also excellent dessert flowers. They can be pressed fresh into the icing of a cake or placed in a bowl of cut fruit.

6. Carnations

Carnations are crinkly, cheerful and have a sweet and spicy flavour. Culinary uses include being steeped in wine, candied, pickled, or used as a syrup base for cocktails and ice cream sundaes. They are great with rice dishes and bright additions to salads or as fresh toppings on savoury dishes.

Mix of various wild flowers for spring. 

Spring, summer and fall are all good times to plant wildflowers but the absolute best time will depend on the winter temperatures and water availability.

Mix of various flowers for spring: sunflower, gerber, zinnia, etc, etc.

Marigolds germinate quickly, sprouting within a few days and blooming in about 8 weeks, making them easy to grow from seed. Sow seeds directly outside after all danger of frost, 1 inch apart and water thoroughly after planting.

Marigolds only need enough water to dampen the soil, and they only require watering about once every ten days. The soil should be allowed to dry out on the surface before watering. The base of the plant should receive the water, and the plant should not be watered from overhead.

Marigolds thrive in cool season, it is best to plant during spring. Marigolds can even handle the reflected heat and light of paved surfaces as long as they get regular moisture. Another fun fact, marigolds bloom better and more often in poorer soil!

These showy, colorful blossoms will have the neighbors talking. This easy-to-grow annual is shorter than most Cosmos varieties, so it fits well in smaller spaces. Cosmos is great for butterfly gardens and cut flower gardens alike.

Because of their Mexican heritage, these bright annuals meet high heat and drought conditions with native beauty and vigor. Spanish conquistadors searching for gold discovered these flowers on their journeys through Mexico. Mission gardens often included these flowers, which priests gave the name "cosmos," the Greek word for a harmonious whole, because of their neatly spaced petals. Cosmos flowers made their way to England with Spanish ambassadors in the late 18th century, and to the United States in the following century.

Marigolds germinate quickly, sprouting within a few days and blooming in about 8 weeks, making them easy to grow from seed. Sow seeds directly outside after all danger of frost, 1 inch apart and water thoroughly after planting.

Marigolds only need enough water to dampen the soil, and they only require watering about once every ten days. The soil should be allowed to dry out on the surface before watering. The base of the plant should receive the water, and the plant should not be watered from overhead.

Marigolds thrive in cool season, it is best to plant during spring. Marigolds can even handle the reflected heat and light of paved surfaces as long as they get regular moisture. Another fun fact, marigolds bloom better and more often in poorer soil!

Marigolds germinate quickly, sprouting within a few days and blooming in about 8 weeks, making them easy to grow from seed. Sow seeds directly outside after all danger of frost, 1 inch apart and water thoroughly after planting.

Marigolds only need enough water to dampen the soil, and they only require watering about once every ten days. The soil should be allowed to dry out on the surface before watering. The base of the plant should receive the water, and the plant should not be watered from overhead.

Marigolds thrive in cool season, it is best to plant during spring. Marigolds can even handle the reflected heat and light of paved surfaces as long as they get regular moisture. Another fun fact, marigolds bloom better and more often in poorer soil!

Soil

Well-drained soil of average fertility.

Position

Full sun.

Frost tolerant

None. Morning glory is a warm-season annual.

Feeding

Mix a light application of a balanced organic fertilizer into the soil prior to planting. In midsummer, drench plants with a liquid fertilizer to prolong bloom time.

Companions

Melon. Vigorous morning glory vines will twine up any type of support and grow into lush, heavy-blooming plants. They are at their best on a sturdy fence.

Spacing

Single Plants: 7" (20cm) each way (minimum)

Rows: 7" (20cm) with 7" (20cm) row gap (minimum)

Sow and Plant

Sow morning glory seeds indoors to get a head start, or you can plant the seeds where you want the plants to grow at about the time of your last spring frost.

Our Garden Planning Tool can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area.

Notes

Morning glory vines are fast climbers that will run up fences, poles, or taller plants such as sunflowers. Morning glory flowers close up during the afternoon hours.

Harvesting

Gather up the old vines after they are damaged by frost and compost them. Morning glories are related to tomatoes, sweet potatoes and other members of the nightshade family.

Troubleshooting

Many older strains of morning glory quickly become invasive weeds in warm summer climates. ‘Heavenly Blue’ and ‘Flying Saucers’ are safe choices because they set few seeds compared to many other varieties.

An excellent dwarf variety (25 cm) for bedding , producing robust and bushy plants with resistance to wilt

Anchusa capensis ‘Blue Angel’ displays tight clusters of small, rich blue flowers on narrow, upright plants. Cut back for rebloom, then let it reseed to enjoy next year. Deer resistant.

Prefers well-drained soil, though tolerates poor or dry soil once established. Summer Forget-Me-Not is great used in borders, mixed containers, or mass plantings.