Many flower blossoms are quite wonderful tasting. But before you start randomly eating flowers from your garden, be sure you know what you are doing—some are deadly poisonous. And of course, if you use pesticides or herbicides in your garden, you might want to avoid eating those blooms. Caveats aside, flowers do wonderfully in salads, as a garnish for chilled soup or serving platters, sprinkled on ice cream, atop spring cocktails, or to decorate cakes.

The following is a list of some of the edible beauties:

Bee balm
Calendula
Daylilies
Hollyhocks
Marigolds
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Roses
Scarlet runner bean
Sunflowers
Violets

How to make candied flowers:

These delectable treats are easy to create; use them on top of ice cream or cakes. Pick the flowers fresh in the early morning.

You’ll need:

A generous handful of violet blossoms, rose petals, or any flower from the edible flowers list
1 or 2 egg whites, depending on how many flowers you use
Superfine sugar

1. Gently wash flowers and pat dry with a clean towel.
2. Beat the egg whites in a small bowl. Pour the sugar into another bowl. Carefully dip the flowers into the egg whites, then roll in sugar, being sure to cover all sides.
3. Set flowers on a cookie sheet and allow to dry in a warm place. Store in a flat container with waxed paper between the layers. These will last for several days.