Grow Something • Spring 2026

Daisies in every cool form. Tulips from classic to wild. And five edible flowers that real chefs use for flavor, not just to make the plate look pretty.

Every year around Easter something shifts. The light gets a little warmer. Things start pushing up through the soil before you tell them to. This article covers three things: the coolest daisies you can grow, tulips in all their wild varieties, and the ones you can actually eat — not just as a garnish, but as a real ingredient with real flavor.

Daisies

The daisy family is the most diverse flowering family on the planet. You can grow one with thin, spiky petals that look like a sea creature, or one with petals that fold into a perfect sphere.

Spider gerbera. Long, narrow, pointed petals that radiate outward like spines. "Green Kermit," with soft yellow-green petals around a dark center, genuinely stops people in their tracks. Our pick if you only try one unusual gerbera variety.

Cape daisy (Osteospermum). Petals that are often iridescent blue-purple on the underside. They close at night and in overcast weather. Full sun, excellent drainage, and they bloom from spring right through summer heat.

Chocolate daisy (Berlandiera lyrata). A wildflower native to the American Southwest that smells, genuinely and unmistakably, of chocolate — especially in the morning. Drought-hardy and a pollinator magnet.

African blue daisy (Felicia amelloides). Bright sky-blue petals around a yellow center. Compact, heat-tolerant, and long-blooming. Pairs perfectly with orange and yellow tulips for an Easter color palette that feels fresh.

Tulips

Parrot tulips. Ruffled, fringed, and twisted petals in colors that often include streaks or flames of a contrasting color. "Black Parrot" has near-black petals with green streaks. "Flaming Parrot" is yellow with brilliant red flames. These are the tulips that stop people in their tracks.

Double tulips (peony-flowered). Extra layers of petals that fill the flower into something that looks more like a peony. "Angelique," soft pink and cream, is one of the most planted tulips in the world for good reason.

Viridiflora (green) tulips. Petals streaked with green. "Spring Green" is white with a bold green flame up each petal. These are the tulips for gardeners who find standard spring color palettes too predictable.

Plant tulip bulbs in fall, pointed end up, at a depth of about three times the bulb's diameter. In zones 8 and above, refrigerate bulbs for six to eight weeks before planting to simulate winter.

5 Edible Flowers That Chefs Actually Use for Flavor

Nasturtium. Flavor: peppery, like arugula or watercress. Toss petals into salads, stuff with cream cheese, or add to sandwiches anywhere you would use arugula. The entire plant is edible including the seed pods, which can be pickled into a homemade caper substitute.

Borage. Flavor: fresh cucumber. Float the blue star-shaped flowers in lemonade or cocktails, or freeze individual flowers in ice cubes. Borage self-seeds freely — grow it once and always have it.

Chive blossoms. Flavor: mild onion. Chop into scrambled eggs, sprinkle over a baked potato, or steep in white wine vinegar for two weeks to make pink chive-blossom vinegar. If you already grow chives and let them flower, you already have this.

Calendula (pot marigold). Flavor: mild, slightly bitter, with a saffron-like color. Stir petals into rice or butter for a golden color. Sometimes called poor man's saffron. Blooms from spring through hard frost and is one of the easiest flowers to save seed from.

Hibiscus. Flavor: tart, cranberry-like. Brew as a tea for a deep red drink with real citrus-tart flavor, make into simple syrup, or use in jams anywhere you need an acidic punch and dramatic color.

Only eat flowers that are correctly identified by their botanical name, grown organically without pesticides, and from your own garden or a trusted source. Never eat flowers from a florist, a roadside planting, or a neighbor's yard you cannot verify. Some very common garden flowers are seriously toxic.

Reference: Nettles and Petals — Edible Flower Garden