Guest: Aaron Steil, Education Coordinator at Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University

Have you ever eaten a daylily right out of your garden? “They kind of taste like buttered lettuce,” says Aaron Steil, Reiman Gardens’ Education Coordinator at the Iowa State University’s 14-acre Reiman Gardens located in Ames, 35 miles north of Des Moines, Iowa. “With roses, pansies, even lilacs, people grow them because they are pretty,” he says.

But what many people do not realize is that they have a dual purpose — they are edible. They can brighten up just about any meal and create new taste sensations. “They kind of make a meal look fancy,” says Steil, a horticulturist, who has satisfied his curiosity by partaking of edible flowers. “Most people are very curious but a little reluctant to try them.”

Most of us don’t stop to realize that some of the vegetable kingdom will actually flower, too, but we eat them in the bud stage before the flavors change and become more bitter as they open up. Broccoli and cauliflower in the cruciferous family are two such examples, according to Steil.

Reiman Gardens is part of Iowa State University and serves as a teaching facility for students in horticulture and landscape architecture. In the summer months, 15 students flesh out the staff when the gardens are in full bloom, and they shrink down to 5 in the cold winter months.

A focal attraction at Reiman Gardens is its 2,500-square-foot butterfly conservatory, which contains around 800 exotic and native butterflies representing 50 different types in flight. It includes the Blue Morpho, a Central American-native tropical butterfly with iridescent blue wings.

The butterflies are shipped in every week as chrysalis (for butterflies) or as cocoons (for moths). Then they hatch there and become part of the short–lived conservatory population. “The average life-span is two weeks,” says Steil.

Reiman Gardens, named after philanthropist and publisher Roy Reiman, was established in 1995. Although he sold his publishing empire some years ago, Reiman’s company originated magazines like Taste of Home, which continues to be a popular food magazine across the world, according to Steil.

While the edible flowers at Reiman Gardens are a feast for the eyes, give some thought to putting them on your dinner plate in the near future.

Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University:
reimangardens.iastate.edu

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