Last month I shared an amazing Mariage Freres Earl Grey Tea and biscotti combo that was wonderfully befitting for April showers.  All that rain has bloomed amazing flowers, at least in my part of town.

In fact, just this past weekend I visited the Brookgreen Gardens in Myrtle Beach where just about every variety of exotic and everyday flowers are budding and showing off.  As I strolled through the massive bucolic and structural garden, I came to a patch of flowers, which struck my eye. Not only were they bold in color and robust in aroma, but also I realized most of them were edible.

There were roses, hydrangeas, snapdragons, lily’s, honeysuckles (my all-time favorite as a child), violets, which I use regularly to garnish desserts and jasmine.

For a gourmet, the epitome of tasteful eating is exhibited when your dish is beautifully presented and more importantly, when everything on the plate is edible and leaves your palate tickled. The visit to the gardens inspired a dish that perfectly embodies those qualities.

In deciding what to create and share with you today, I took a quick, unofficial poll on my Faceboook page and asked friends what their favorite edible flowers are.  I wasn’t completely surprised by the responses but enjoyed reading the plethora of interests from like-minded cooks.  Aside from the widely popular micro rosebuds and lavender, orchids, juniper, elderflower (wonderful for St. Germain cocktails), borage and nasturtium made the list.

To read the rest of this week’s column and get a yummy recipe, go to Dean & DeLuca’s ‘Gourmet Blog,’ here!