“Can you really eat these? Aren’t they simply decorative?”. At lunch the other day my friends beautiful pistachio pudding was adorned with heartease (viola tricolor) petals. The answers were “yes” and “but well, yes”. Pansy and violets (viola spp.) flowers are edible but have disappointingly little flavour. However there are other edible flowers that deliver on both fronts: roses (particularly rosa rugosa, r. gallica & r. damascena), carnations (dianthus spp), day lilies (try Hemorcallis citrina) and nastertium; all can be added to salads.
