Wednesday, March 25, 2015

// // 3 comments

Gardening With Kids: Edible Flowers

Gardening with kids is both fun and educational, but it can be a little nerve-wracking if you have a child that likes to pop the flowers off of plants and eat them!



I've been through this stage with two of my own kiddos and decided the best solution is to plant flowers that are edible!  I now have a yard full of edible flowers!  I thought I'd share this collection of some of my favorites so you can grow them and not stress when your little one decides to eat the newest blossom!

A few quick precautionary notes: make sure you have the real plant and not a similar-looking, but toxic, imitation.  I like to buy the plants from our hardware store so I know exactly what they are.

Also, I am no doctor or even herbologist...just a mom and teacher trying to share something helpful. If you're concerned about something your child has eaten call a doctor or poison control.  Anything your child is allergic to can be deadly if eaten.

And, while many of these flowers actually have a pleasant flavor (especially if you remove the white, bitter base), some of them do not taste good at all.  If you plan to make a deliberate salad, sample the flowers first!  I've found that some of my toddlers have been much less picky about flavor than I am!

And now (without any more preamble!) here are 7 of my favorite edible flowers:

Marigolds:



Lilacs:



Roses:



Sunflowers:



Pansy:



Petunias:



Snapdragons:



Once you have a healthy flower garden, I love to have a lesson with my children on the parts of a flower.  It's also loads of fun to make bouquets for neighbors, relatives, and the kitchen table!




I may share at any of these parties!



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3 comments:

Lora said...

Cool! I didn't know marigold were edible. I plant them around my garden to keep out deer and squirrels.

Carla at Preschool Powol Packets said...

Isn't that fun Lora! Many people actually consider marigolds an herb! They're also supposed to keep mosquitoes away! :D

Unknown said...

Who knew? I'll be planting a lot of those soon! Great post! Ann from Little Worlds