Hassle-free harvests

Flowers are out in abundance this month and for Jack Wallington, many of these blooms make delicious, low-effort pickings

- Jack Wallington

July has always been a favourite month because everything is full and bountiful. We can walk through our gardens, picking crops and eating them without a care in the world.

In my main garden, flowers are in full bloom and, with my 'hassle-free food' hat on, it's worth discussing the edible flowers among them because they're more useful than they might seem. There was a time when I considered eating flowers a bit of a novelty. Now, though, I see flowers as an entirely new category of hassle-free harvests in the same way herbs sit alongside vegetables and fruit.

Flowers bring colour to our plates as well as unique textures and subtle flavours. Grow perennial or self-sowing flowers and they'll crop every year for no effort. It can feel a bit odd eating flowers at first, but push past that and I promise you'll never look back. Best of all, because edible flowers don't last long in shops, they're a treat for the home grower.

Harvest

Monarda is a particularly hassle-free flower to grow. A member of the mint family (though not as vigorous a spreader), its leaves, flowers and young shoots are edible - the leaves make a good tea. The petals taste like a mild cross between mint and Earl Grey tea, and I use them to decorate salads and cakes.

I've eaten the petals of Salvia x jamensis 'California Sunset, which is sold for culinary use in America. Mild in flavour with a hint of sugar from the nectar (which you can suck out), they're also great for desserts and to garnish cold drinks. Similarly useful are some viola petals, which are among the tastiest of flowers, while nasturtium flowers have a peppery kick better suited to salads. I also sacrifice a few courgette flowers to eat when they first open because they're delicious raw, as well as stuffed and cooked.