Three Edible Flowers

Many flowers are edible. Using them in your baking, cooking, and beverages will add a layer of complexity and delight to your culinary creations making them uniquely tasty and beautiful. 

Before you begin to experiment with edible flowers, take the time to learn which are safe to use and which aren’t. I’ve listed my ‘top 3 rules for edible flowers here’, but as always, let common sense rule – if in doubt, don’t consume!

Over the years I’ve compiled a list of my favourite edible flowers. Today I’m going to introduce you to three of them. All three can be grown in home gardens or planters during the summer time (at least where I live in Vancouver), and they can all be used either fresh or dried.

1 – Nasturtium: One of the most popular edible flowers is the nasturtium. All parts except the seed are edible and have a peppery taste similar to a radish. But it’s the bloom that really makes a dish pop. When you use it whole it adds a brilliant dash of colour to your dish.

2 – Borage: Borage is a dainty little star-shaped flower that most often comes in blue. It has a cooling, cucumber-like taste and makes the prettiest garnish for salads, cheese plates, sweet treats, and summer drinks. 

3 -Calendula: Calendulas have a subtle flavour that ranges from peppery to bitter making them a great addition to soups and salads. They’ve adopted the nick-name ‘poor man’s saffron’, because their bright yellow, gold, or orange petals are so intense they can be used to tint custards, eggs and rice dishes. 

There’s a lot to learn about edible flowers and how to use them, but once you start, you won’t turn back. My favourite book on the subject is Cooking with Flowers, by Miche Bacher. It’s packed full of information, recipes, and beautiful images. 

Three Flower Quotes

Writers, scholars, artists, and musicians make constant reference to flowers in their work. Their quotes can be sincere, inspirational, thought provoking or even funny. When I come across a quote I often think ‘this is my favourite’, but then I’ll come across another one and think ‘this is my favourite’. So what I have now is quite a large collection of my favourite quotes about flowers. I’m going to share three of them with you here.

The first is from Claude Monet, the founder of French impressionistic painting. The second is from Sigmund Freud, the Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis. And the third is from Alexander Den Heijer, a Dutch inspirational speaker, trainer and consultant. Very different people, all including flowers in their quote, and each one making me pause and think.

The quotes:

“I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” Claude Monet

“Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.” Sigmund Freud

“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” Alexander Den Heijer

Tulips - the Flowers that Dance

Tulips - bright, cheerful and a beautiful symbol that spring has arrived. I have 6 facts about tulips to share with you, and then I’m going to tell you what I love most about them.

 1 – The largest producer and exporter of tulips is the Netherlands. They export about 3 billion bulbs a year. If you’d like to see the flowers blooming in the Netherlands, the best time to go is mid-April.

 2 – In the 1600’s, tulip bulbs were more valuable than people’s homes.  An average working-class man would have to work for ten years to earn enough to buy one.

 3 – Tulips come in every colour of the rainbow except for blue. There’s also the ‘Queen of the Night’, a tulip that’s so dark it appears black.

 4 – The vase life for tulips is about seven days. Cut the stems at an angle to give them the widest surface area to absorb water, keep the water level in the vase topped up, and place the arrangement in a cool room. Follow these guidelines and they’ll look their best for the longest possible time.

 5 – In the language of flowers, tulips have the general meaning of love and affection, but every colour symbolizes something different. Red - love; purple – royalty; yellow – cheerfulness and hope; pink – caring and well-wishes; white – forgiveness. 

6 - Tulips are the flower for the 11th wedding anniversary. With their overall meaning of love and affection you can’t go wrong with a big bouquet of any colour.

So here’s what I love most about tulips. I love how once you arrange them in a vase they don’t stay put. The stems bend and curve and move in all sorts of directions. I once heard this described as ‘the tulips are dancing in their vase’. I love that. It’s the perfect image to go with the movement the tulips make.

There are a couple of scientific reasons why tulips ‘dance’. The first is they continue to grow about two inches after they’re cut, and the other is they’re reaching toward the light. Many people want to stop this quirk of nature and they’ll try everything from putting a pinhole in the stem, to adding a penny or vodka into the water to stop it from happening. I say, instead of trying to stifle the dance, embarace it!

A Love for True Blue Flowers

Our next step along the floral rainbow is the colour blue. Blue flowers benefit our mental, physical and emotional wellbeing, by producing a calming effect that in turn slows down our metabolism and thoughts. 

Only 10% of flowers come in the colour blue – that makes them the rarest of colours to find. But they do exist, so don’t buy any that are fake or dyed. ‘True blue’ flowers are definitely the only way to go. 

Blues can range in shades from soft and pale to rich and vibrant. What you choose, and what you pair it with can create an impact ranging from a peaceful calm, to a sophisticated elegance.

So once again as we talk about how to incorporate a specific colour flower into our arrangements, I’d recommend turning to nature for inspiration.

Spring: Spring is all about the return of blue skies, sunshine and white fluffy clouds. Blue, yellow and white creates a feeling of freshness and openness.  An arrangement with these colours would be perfect in the kitchen to greet you first thing in the morning.

Summer: An idyllic summer day is warm and lazy where the pace slows down as you lounge at the edge of a pool.  A mix of soft and medium blues paired with eucalyptus greens creates a warm, relaxed feeling. This would be a perfect combination for the bedroom.

Fall: Fall arrives and the days start getting cooler and shorter, yet we’re not quite ready to let go of summer. Blues, dark pinks and oranges make a great combination to transition from summer sunsets to cozy evenings in your home. A vase in your entrance way will be a beautiful greeting as you come through the door earlier and earlier each evening.

Winter: Winter means cold, clear, crisp weather with time spent indoors. Rich vibrant blues, deep purples and dark greens create a warm, glowing feeling. This is perfect in the living room for when you gather with family and friends.

 Some of my favourite blue flowers are cornflower, tweedia, nigella, hydrangea and delphinium.  If you are unfamiliar with any of these, have a chat with your local florist who should be able to help you, or please message me with any questions. I’d also love to know your favourite blue flowers.

 PS - My very favourite blue flower is one that is too tiny to really use in flower arrangements. It’s the very sweet and dainty forget-me-not. But starting in the spring, keep your eyes open as you go for walks as you’ll often see them blooming in your neighbour’s gardens. 

Five Facts About Sweet Peas

Every month has a specific flower assigned to it – it’s ‘birth month flower’.

It’s April, the time when spring flowers really start to bloom. The flower for April is one that I’ve never actually seen blooming during this month – at least not where I live - but it does happen to be one of my favourite flowers. It’s the delicate, fragrant, sweet pea.

My first memory of any flower is of sweet peas. When I was 6 years old, we had a trellis at the end of the garden where they grew. To this day, whenever I get even a whiff of the fragrance of sweet peas it takes me right back to that garden of my childhood. 

Part of the appeal of sweet peas is they combine an old-world charm with a simple, contemporary look. They were a favourite during the Victorian era and their popularity has never wavered. Here are five facts about sweet peas:

1 – They’re a very satisfying flower to grow. They look great in the garden but also make a wonderful cut flower;

2 -The vase life for sweet peas is about 5 days. Keeping them in a cooler place, changing the water every other day and re-cutting the stems may give you a few extra days;

3 – Don’t be fooled by their name – sweet peas are not edible;

4 – In the language of flowers, sweet peas mean thank you, appreciation, farewell or delicate pleasures. These meanings, combined with it being the flower for the month of April, means you have many gift-giving opportunities for sweet peas;  

5 – Sweet peas have a slender stem. The best way to display them is to put them in a vase with a narrow neck to support them.

The fragrance of sweet peas can provoke strong memories, so why not pick up a bunch and take a trip down memory lane. And if sweet peas aren’t part of your past, make them a part of your future and start that memory connection today.

Happy and Healthy at Work with Flowers

To have a successful business, you need a happy productive work force. Something as easy and affordable as adding a few fresh flowers to your workplace sets the right tone.

Maybe you have doubts that something as simple as having flowers at work can improve productivity. But scientific research proves this is the case. Whether you work from home, have a corner office, or share a communal space, having flowers around will offer a multitude of positive benefits. As well as increasing productivity, flowers reduce stress, improve innovative thinking, boost creativity and increase everyone’s level of wellness. 

Whether you are an employer or an employee, there are things you can do to incorporate flowers into your work life. Here are some suggestions:

For the employer:

1 – Have flowers in all common areas. If this isn’t a task you want to take on yourself, and you don’t want to delegate it to one of your employees, contact your local florist. Most florists offer a weekly floral subscription. They’ll bring fresh flowers to you every week and take away the old bouquet so you don’t have to deal with it.

2 – Get into the habit of giving flowers to your employees. It could be to celebrate a birthday, a thank you for a job well done, or just to say ‘have a nice day’. You should also consider sending flowers to your clients to let them know you appreciate their business. This personal touch will build a loyalty between you and your employees and you and your clients. It’s a very simple gesture, but one that will benefit everyone.

3 – Host a bouquet-making workshop. Call your local florist and hire them to teach your employees how to make a bouquet and then deliver the flowers to nearby care facilities. This is a great team building activity, as well as a way to reach out to your wider community.

For the employee:

1 – Keep a vase of flowers on your desk. Even just a bud vase with a bloom will brighten your workspace and make you smile every time you glance at it.

2 – Share the happiness. When you purchase a fresh flower for yourself, purchase a second one and put it on a co-worker’s desk. 

3 – Model positive actions and give a bouquet to your boss. Everyone feels the positive impact from flowers – including the person in charge!

Let’s all start to fill our offices with the joy that flowers bring. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Either comment below, or send me an email.

Make Flowers a Daily Habit

“I must have flowers, always, and always.” Claude Monet

Science has proven over and over again that flowers make us happier and healthier. They lift our spirits both immediately and long-term.

In the past few years I’ve learned a lot about the power flowers have on our well-being. They boost our mood, decrease our anxiety, improve our sleep, brighten our environment, increase our productivity and strengthen our memory. And the best part is, it’s doesn’t require a lot of effort or a big budget to reap the benefits flowers offer. A few stems from the garden, a small arrangement from your local florist or a quick grab-and-go bouquet from the grocery store – all will work their magic on you.

Flowers mean different things to us at different times in our lives. Whether for birthdays, weddings, promotions, sickness or in sympathy, flowers are there with us to celebrate the good times and comfort us during the sad times. Let’s learn from those memorable moments in life and start to include flowers as a natural way of improving the quality of our daily lives. 

Having fresh flowers around you every day is a small step you can take to create a positive and uplifiting environment for yourself, and those around you. May you always have flowers in your life.

Yes, There are Green Flowers

St. Patrick’s Day is almost upon us, so as we continue our way along the floral rainbow, it’s the perfect time to focus on the colour green.

In general when we think of a bouquet, we think of the ‘green’ element as the foliage surrounding the flowers. But there are many varieties of flowers available in shades of green, ranging from the softest mint to the most vibrant lime. 

Green is a fabulous colour that symbolizes life, renewal, nature, energy, growth, freshness, harmony and good fortune.  When green flowers are used in a bouquet, they add a wonderful contrast to the other colours, thus enhancing the overall look. Muted, soft shades of green pair well with pastel colours like baby blue and lavender, while lime green makes all the other colours in the bouquet pop.

 If you’re struggling with deciding what shade of green to use when, turn to nature and the seasons for clues.    

• Spring: a time of renewal, so use a bright green combined with cheerful yellows to create an energizing feel;

• Summer: hot and hazy, when the pace of life slows down, so use a soft shade of green paired with shades of lavender for a relaxing, mellow feel;

•  Winter: icy and cold, use darker shades of green paired with red flowers and seasonal greenery to warm up your home and get into the festive spirit; 

•  Fall: a time when nature is full of an abundance of textures, so use all different shades of green to create depth and interest, mimicking what’s happening outside.

 My favourite green flower is a hellebore, with the hydrangea a close second. You’ll also find roses, orchids, dahlias, zinnias, chrysanthemums, daylilies and gladiolus in various hues of green. You can pick the flower that is the right size, shape, and shade for the look you are going for.

Next time you are choosing flowers for a bouquet, pop a few green blooms in the mix and see what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

A Host of Daffodils

Every month has a specific flower assigned to it – it’s ‘birth month flower’. 

Many flowers start to bloom in the early spring, but one of the most symbolic for this season is the daffodil – the flower for the month of March. 

Everyone who knows me knows I go for a walk every single day, no matter if it’s the hottest day of summer or the coldest day of winter. As I walk through the neighbourhood, I love to watch the seasons change. One of the first hints that spring is on the way is when the daffodils start popping up they’re like little rays of hope reminding us that warmer, lighter days are ahead. Nobody has captured this annual sighting of daffodils better than William Wordsworth when he said:

“I wandered lonely as a cloud. 
That floats on high o’ver vales and hills, 
When all at once I saw a crowd, 
A host of golden daffodils”

When my Mum was growing up in England, the village children worked in the daffodil fields during spring break. They started with picking the flowers, and then moved on to bundling them. This involved wrapping an elastic band around 12 stems of daffodils. My Mum remembers the elastics cutting into their hands and how all the sap from the stems would run into the open wounds stinging like crazy. I cringe at the thought of it, but in true British fashion, my Mum just says ‘We soon toughened up.’

Daffodil bulbs are planted in the autumn. Because of their ability to survive harsh winter conditions, and then bloom brightly in the spring, they represent hope and new beginnings. The Canadian Cancer Society has taken that sentiment to heart and uses the daffodil as their symbol to represent the difficulties that those affected by cancer experience, and the courage that carries them through.

Daffodils really are best when they are locally in season, but the season is short, so keep your eyes open for them and treat yourself (and others) to these springtime delights while you can.

To note: You may have heard that you can’t mix daffodils with other flowers because of the toxic sap they have being harmful to other plants. While this is true, if you soak the daffodils for 24 hours first, you can then add other varieties of flowers into the vase. (Just don’t re-cut the daffodil stems as this will re-release the toxins.)

Introducing the Language of Flowers

It’s well-known that a red rose symbolizes love, but what’s not as well-known is that most flowers have a special meaning attached to them. Using flowers and their meanings to create and send messages has been practiced for thousands of years and across all cultures. This is the language of flowers. 

While the popularity of the language of flowers hit a high point during the Victorian era, today it’s existence has almost been forgotten. I first learned of it from a novel I read by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, aptly named, The Language of Flowers. Within the first few pages I was captivated by the way you could make a bouquet of flowers have a special meaning, purely from your choice of flowers. However, I quickly realized why the popularity of this “language” has fallen out of favour; intriguing and exciting as it is, the intricacies of the language make it difficult to use. It turns out every flower can have more than one meaning, and sometimes those meanings are total opposites of each other! Take a sunflower, for example. It can mean ‘adoration’, because of the way it turns its face towards the sun. But it can also mean ‘haughtiness’, because it can look like it’s turning its nose up at something. 

Despite these complications, I think now is a perfect time in history to start using this means of communication again. Today we live in a time when people are intrigued with the past, yet also a time of technology and social media. So while we value ancestry and all things vintage, we are also made very aware of what the latest trends are, and then we seem to want what everyone else has. Using the symbolism in the language of flowers is a great way to connect the past with the present. For example, you can take inspiration from an image of a flower bouquet on Instagram, and then make it unique by using flowers that give it a personal message. 

 In modernizing this language, we can make it popular again. In upcoming posts I will share with you ideas of how to take the complications away from the meanings, and then how to incorporate them into your flower use so you can create personalized and meaningful flower arrangements for your friends, your family and yourself to enjoy.

Time for a Flower-filled Vacation

Provence, Holland, Japan, California, Oman, the Azores, England, the Swiss Alps – what do these places have in common? They all have a spectacular floral landscape. Provence has their lavender, Holland their tulips, Japan their cherry blossoms, Oman their roses, California their poppies, the Azores their hydrangeas, England their bluebells and the Swiss Alps their wild flowers. 

When planning a vacation we normally think of which tropical beach, vibrant city, or snow-covered mountain we’ll go to. Having ‘flowers’ as the focus of your travels isn’t something many people have thought of. Let me introduce you to ‘Floral Tourism’ – planning your vacation destination based on the floral seasons. 

You may be wondering why you would make flowers the focus of your trip, but consider these three reasons:

 1 – When you’re visiting one of these flower-filled locations, you still experience the culture, people, food and language like any other holiday destination, but you’ve added another layer to your experience by treating your senses to local, seasonal flowers blooming en masse;

 2 – Holidays are meant to be relaxing, but they can also be stressful. It’s scientifically proven that flowers decrease anxiety, so imagine the positive impact on your vacation when surrounded by fresh, gorgeous flowers;

 3 – Flowers, with their vibrant colours and sweet fragrance create a warmth and beauty to the moment. The strong impressions they make will strengthen the memories of your vacation.

The place I’ve always said is the top of my list to visit is Provence. All that lavender would be heavenly and so relaxing! My goal is to get there within the next five years. But I’ve added another top destination to the list, and that’s England. I’ve been to England many times, but never when the bluebells are in bloom, and that is what I really want to see. I can just image a woodland scene carpeted in a sea of bright blue.

When traveling to see flowers in bloom there are several things you need to know to guarantee a successful trip. Most important (of course) is knowing when the flowers are in bloom. But you also want to plan where you will stay, what mode of transportation you will use when you’re there, appropriate clothing, and any special rules or regulations when you’re with the flowers.

In upcoming posts, I’ll focus on each travel destination giving you the specific information you need to visit that place. Let’s all take our vacations up a notch by visiting these spectacular floral utopias.

My Top Tips for Flower Care

Having flowers around the house on a regular basis creates a positive environment for our mental, physical, and emotional health. The good news is, it doesn’t require a tremendous amount of effort to incorporate this healthy habit into our lives. Once we have flowers, we want them to look as beautiful as possible for as long as possible. Here are my top tips for things we can do to assure we get the longest vase-life possible for our fresh flowers.

• Make sure your vase is clean: Any bacteria in your vase will shorten the life of the flowers. If I’m washing my vases by hand, I add a drop of bleach and then rinse well with hot water, but more often than not, I just run them through a cycle in the dish washer and they’re good to go;

• Use fresh clean water:  This is so important!  Always have clean water in your vase. I change mine every second day. It only takes a minute, but it makes a huge difference;

• Cut the stems of the flowers: When you first put your flowers in the vase, and every time you change the water after that, cut the stems at an angle. This will help them absorb water. (No smashing or piercing the stems, as this has the opposite effect - preventing water absorption.);

• Find the right spot for them: Here is where not to place your flowers: in direct sunlight, in a draft, near a heating or cooling vent (causes dehydration), or near any fresh fruit. Fruit is the enemy of flowers as the ethylene gas they emit is detrimental to  them.

• Down-size your arrangement: No matter if you have a big mixed bouquet, or a small bunch of all the same type of flower, each stem does not last the same amount of time as all the others. To keep your arrangement looking fresh and healthy, remove each bloom when it fades. As you get fewer and fewer stems, move the remaining flowers into smaller vases. My Mum is the queen of down-sizing a flower arrangement and keeps this process going until all that is left is one bloom in a bud vase!

• Flower food: Those little packets of flower food that come with your bouquet – should you use them or not? Flower food is good for nourishing the flowers, keeping bacteria at bay and encouraging buds to open. BUT this only works if you follow the directions correctly. I’m quite certain that not many of us read the tiny little print on the back of the pack and then measure the correct amount of water to mix with the correct amount of food. Improperly mixed food can do more harm to the flowers than good. Personally I never use the flower food. I find when I follow the other tips listed here, the flowers do just great.

These are my top tips for keeping your flowers looking their best.  While eventually they will die, while they’re here, they bring such beauty to the world it’s worth the few extra moments it takes to care for them properly.