Add color and flavor to a simple mixed green salad with edible flowers such as nasturtiums, borage and calendula. Make sure to toss the salad with vinaigrette before adding blossoms to prevent sogginess. Float pansies in herbal tea or punches. Larger flowers can be used, with petals intact, as elegant containers for simple foods. For a bridal shower, try a blossom filled with crabmeat or tuna salad for an elegant presentation.
Spicy hibiscus can serve as a pretty cup for sorbet.
A sugar coating gives flowers a showier, luminous look and also preserves them. Blooms with smooth, flat petals give the best results. Try pansies, violas and individual rose petals. To make your own, place flower stems in water while you assemble your materials in a cool, dry location. Egg whites are the glue that makes the sugar stick to the flower.