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Kiwi Gardener
"The magazine for gardeners who like to get their hands dirty!"
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In our latest issue, Olivia shares how to grow the five best edible flowers to elevate your summer salads.
There is something uplifting about sprinkling an abundance of edible flowers over a dish. Edible flowers not only transform food’s visual appeal, they offer subtle flavour notes and many are full of nutrients and antioxidants. The key is knowing which flowers are edible and how to use them.
Borage offers a mild cucumber flavour with sweet honey notes, Dianthus provides a spicy, clove-like taste in various vibrant colours, Cornflower serves as nature's confetti with a mild clove-like flavour, Calendula boasts peppery petals, adding a splash of orange or yellow, and Nasturtium brings a peppery and slightly spicy essence, brightening any dish.
Read more in our December issue, out now!
I just planted calendula in pots, had no idea you could eat them. My hubby hates fruit in salads, he’s going to lose his mind when I put flowers in. 🤣
Jess from Waipu has recently learnt that ducks eat slugs and snails, so now she loves it when her neighbour’s pet Muscovy duck wanders into her flower garden for a feed. “I’ve named her Mabel. She is very plump, so she doesn’t try to fly up into my raised vegetable garden to feast on my vegetable plants, so I’m winning.” 🦆💚
What's your unique garden hack or surprise visitor?
Strawberries will be ripening on a regular basis. To keep them flourishing, give the plants a drench of liquid plant food once or twice a month. Strawberries respond particularly well to this. Remove side runners as they appear; they suck energy from the parent plant, which slows down flower formation. At present, the aim is to encourage the plant to produce more flowers, not leafy growth. Add more layers of straw if required to help maintain soil moisture and keep the fruit free from dirt, plus it helps suppress weeds.