Fresh from the Garden

It's summer time and one way to bring summer into your wedding is by using flowers. I know you're thinking, "Gee Laura, flowers at a wedding? Boy, how original! Duh..." But I'm not talking about bouquets or center pieces. I'm talking about edible flowers! There are actually many different edible flowers and beautifully shaped herbs. In the days before elaborate fondants, shaved chocolate, and spun sugar sculptures it was common to decorate cakes and garnish food with flowers fresh from the garden. My 92 year old grandmother still presses Black-eyed Susan's into my mothers birthday cake each summer. You can even freeze tiny blooms into the ice cubes for cocktails! Not every flower is safe (or desirable) to eat but Better Homes and Gardens website has a great list of edible flowers. (And of course never use flowers that were treated with pesticides.) Using edible flowers can give even simple foods a home-spun feel that's also very elegant! Below are a few examples.

Lavender Ice Cream

Flowers garnish champagne cocktails and daiquiris.

Rose petals on white chocolate fudge, marigold vanilla cupcakes, violet topped meringues, & sugared rose petals on almond cupcakes.

Mint is a delicious & beautiful addition to lemon bars or vanilla ice cream.