Wake Up and Eat the Flowers—
But Please Leave My Centerpiece Alone!
...continued

Lavender—which blankets rocky hillsides throughout southern Europe, Australia, and the US—is a short shrub with narrow gray-green leaves covered with silvery down. Its small blue-violet flowers contain the fragrant oil that provides lavender's distinctive flavor.

Folk wisdom has long held that lavender petals stuffed into a pillow will lull insomniacs to sleep, and science now suggests that it may be true. The scent has been show to slow the activity of the nervous system, improve sleep quality, promote relaxation, reduce anxiety, and lift mood.

Sweet lavender flowers are most commonly used in desserts like ice cream and crème brulee, but combined with rosemary, thyme, and other herbs as in herbes de Provence, it makes a complex rub for pork or chicken. The petals retain their flavor when dried, so there's no reason not to stock up the next time you come across a field of blooming lavender.

Dandelion—the bane of many a home gardener's existence—was first brought to north America by early European colonists who used it to treat a range of maladies from liver, gall bladder, kidney, and joint problems to indigestion. Its diuretic properties have earned it a reputation as a blood purifier and employment as a folk remedy for diseases from eczema to cancer.

Dandelion is extremely nutritious—it's one of the richest sources of beta-carotene around, and provides Vitamins B, C, and D to boot. With its spinach-like qualities, it comes as no big surprise that it's full of iron and calcium—even more than that more popular green.

Dandelion leaves are best harvested in the spring when they are young and tender, and are delicious eaten raw in salads. The bitterness of larger, tougher leaves can be tamed by steaming or sauteeing. Their often-overlooked buds have an earthy, mushroomy flavor and are delicious sautéed with garlic in olive oil.

The list of edible flowers that you can find in the wild is extensive, but suffice it to say that yes, you can—dare I say should—eat the flowers, but you'd be well advised to let the centerpiece be. For one thing, flowers from a florist that are not sold with the intention of being served as food may be treated with dangerous pesticides. And then there's the more obvious reason: if you're caught munching on the carefully arranged bouquet, you may never be invited back.