divaqs's Blog

Calendula – Edible Flowers
Jun 20, 2007 | 11:49 AM PST
Tags: Calendula , Calendula officinalis , edible , flower

Last year I planted a mix of calendula flowers (Calendula officinalis) from seed. I don’t remember really seeing any grow last year, though last year was pretty hectic for me and I wasn’t paying that much attention. This spring I did take notice as they have burst forth either from seed that was from flowers re-seeding themselves or from left-over seed that had not yet germinated.

I saw the first one appear a couple of months ago, surprisingly hidden under one of the giant leaves of my rhubarb.

 

Then others appeared

 

Surprisingly, I’ve noticed the color change some over time. Here are the same flowers, but about a month later.

 

I tasted some and was surprised. The taste is floral, kind of like rose, but sweeter.  Though I’ve read that some could be bitter, so be sure to taste test yours before using them. My mouth felt a little funny afterward, kind of like it had a film of some kind of oil or soap in it. It wasn’t an unpleasant experience, just odd.  I am going to try again and see if it happens again, before adding any of the flower petals to a salad or use them as a garnish.

Calendula flowers have something of a reputation as a medicinal herb, either as a topical skin treatment or as tea. I haven’t tried any of these out myself, but am planning on experimenting some more. It would be definitely interesting to try to make some Calendula soap, leveraging the herbal medicinal benefits.

As a landscape plant, I think they are really pretty, as I think the pictures demonstrate. They are a good mid-size annual. The fragrance isn’t particularly wonderful, but that is made up for with the visual appeal.

I hope to have Calendula in my yard for many years.