My garden has been showing off beautiful flowers for the past few weeks; here are some of the edible ones:
1) Ruby Ann Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa ‘Ruby Ann’) – Blooms and fruits all-summer long, and it is a desirable plant to have in the garden for its unique, bright pink-redish flowers (photo at the top of this post.)
2) Johnny Jump Up (Viola tricolor) – Also known as wild pansy or heartsease (heart’s ease), it was introduced in North America from Europe and has become widely naturalized. I started growing them when experimenting with a Shakespearean garden theme; in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, this flower is referred as love-in-idleness: “It fell upon a little western flower, Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound, And maidens call it love-in-idleness.” I also like them because they are edible and look pretty on either sweet treats or savoury cold dishes alike:
3) Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) – I started both flat and curly parsley from seed this year, and I still have a good supply of fresh leaves. Parsley is a biennial plant, that blooms and goes to seed on its second year; the photo below is from one of my plants from last year:
4) Marjoram (Origanum majorana) – Marjoram leaves are a staple herb in the Mexican kitchen, so I like to keep a patch in my garden. In mid- to late-summer, the beautiful pale pink flowers offer another edible and aromatic product:
5) Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) – Not to be confused with the citrus fruit (bergamot orange, Citrus bergamia), these perennials, native to North America, have been used in infusions to treat respiratory ailments since ancient times. Also called bee balm for being attractive to pollinators, they grow wild but are also cultivated mainly for their beautiful flowers in shades of white, pink and violet/purple. In my garden, the flowers are a little past their prime, but still pretty and they are starting to go to seed:
6) Raspberry (Rubus sp.) – I have been growing red raspberries for years; this year I am trying black and golden raspberries, too. In the photo below, flowers from the black raspberry plant:
I am joining Six on Saturday for August 15, 2026, hosted by Jim Stephens @ Garden Ruminations.
My Slice of Mexico 