Edimentals are plants that serve two functions – they’re attractive enough to be regarded as ornamental plants but are safe and flavorful to be eaten, too. Edimentals can include both annuals and perennials, with most perennials also having the advantage of being especially easy to care for since their deep root systems often make them more drought tolerant.
While purchasing plants or seeds from reputable sources is always advised, this is of particular importance if you’re considering using plants for food as well as display. Some plants/tubers may be treated with chemicals or pesticides so check with the grower/greenhouse owner for organically grown options that haven’t been chemically treated.
You may be familiar with some of these edimentals, like kale and chicory, and be pleasantly surprised by others such as daylily and dahlia. Here are some attractive (and delicious!) edimentals to include in your garden or containers:
Dazzling Blue Kale – With its bright pink ribs and lush, blue-green leaves, this variety of kale is as visually stunning as it is nutritious. This particular variety is more cold hardy than some other cultivars and also seems to thwart off slugs better than some other varieties.
Chicory – Beautiful blue flowers on tall stalks make chicory a welcomed addition to any garden. Cook the leaves as you would a green veggie or use young leaves in a salad for a zesty, slightly bitter flavor packed with nutritional benefits. Roots can also be baked and ground to use as a coffee substitute.
Ruby Chard – Brilliant ruby red stalks with wrinkled and green leaves and red veining, provide the wow-factor in your garden as well as your meals. Tolerates frost in late fall and early spring for a wonderfully long growing season. Also consider rainbow chard for added color.
Nasturtium – With their trailing habit, nasturtiums are a great option for containers and hanging baskets. Available in a brilliant variety of flower colors, the plant’s bright blooms really pop against soft, grey-green leaves. The flowers have a slightly peppery taste and look beautiful in salads, side-dishes and desserts. The leaves add a bitter brightness to salads.
Society Garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) – Named because it adds a delicate garlic flavor to dishes without the lingering breath after-effects, its sweet, tiny pink flowers bloom all summer into fall. Flowers and leaves are edible, and the plant will benefit from some mulching prior to winter’s cold temps.
Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) – A note of caution here, not all daylilies are edible, but H.fulva are safe for humans and considered the most flavorful. Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are poisonous to cats and may irritate the stomachs of dogs but aren’t lethal to the latter. True lilies (Lilim) are toxic for dogs, cats and humans. Dalily varieties to explore include Frans Hals, Cream Drop, Burning Daylight and Pink Damask. Fresh flowers have an iceberg lettuce taste, while the flavor of flower buds has been described as a cross between green peas and asparagus.
Dahlia (common dahlias include D. x pinnata or D. variabilis) – With gorgeous blooms in every color, dahlias add a beauty boost to the garden from mid-summer through fall, when many plants start to fade. A close relative of the sunflower and Jerusalem artichoke, both the flowers and tubers of dahlias are edible, but some varieties are tastier and have a more pleasing texture than others. D. coccinea have a history of good tasting tubers and may be worth trying.
Chives – You can grow these tiny charmers in the garden, in containers and even indoors in a bright sunny spot and all parts of the plant are edible, including the pink-lavender flowers. Add the flowers to salads for a bit of color or harvest the chives with their flowers to make chive blossom vinegar.
Image Credit – Pixabay – Chicory Bloom
Main Image Credit – Pixabay – Dahlia Flower
