5 Ways I let Flowers Inspire My Cooking and my Kitchen

You’re gonna want to try #5

Apr 09, 2024

One day, I realized how much joy flowers brought to my life. While the proverb “take time to smell the roses” is something I’ve repeated and has long since been a part of my thoughts, I realize it’s much more than that.

Imagine a world without flowers. Imagine a world without beauty. Even if you’ve never noticed them before, they’re there, waiting, calling.

You can’t help but notice their delicate buds saying hello in the spring as they announce better, warmer weather. They celebrate each season in their own unique way.

It’s no wonder we’ve brought them in and incorporated them into everything we do.

I thought about a few years ago when I lined all my flower pots with edible flowers, waiting to showcase their beauty both outside on my porch and inside on my plates.

Eating flowers is as old as time. They’re incorporated into teas, medicines, herbs, and spices. Mix them into a salad, or decorate a cake.

It doesn’t matter how you bring them into your life. And as I’m finding, just having them in my presence is enough to motivate me to want more, give more.

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
– Frances Hodgson Burnett

Flavor

According to Arielle Johnson from the book Flavorama, the first law of flavor is taste and smell.

“You only get flavor when you combine taste and smell. Smell is just as important, sometimes more so, in this equation. That’s not the way it feels, certainly. Your smell sensations are so seamlessly integrated with taste while you’re eating that they don’t feel like smell at all. But even if you don't feel like you have the nose of a master perfumer or sommelier, anytime you eat, you’re using smell to sense flavor.”

I remember watching a show on sommeliers on Netflix a few years ago. It was the journey of several people on the road to becoming sommeliers. They’d pour the wine, sniff, taste, and embark on the challenge of labeling flavor terms.

It’s floral. It’s fruity. It’s earthy. It’s pungent. It’s woody. It’s spiced.

Maybe you notice it, too, as you remove a spice from its holder, remove the lid, and catch the scent in the air. A few shakes, and a taste … should you add more?

I once separated flowers from food into two distinct categories. No more.

Today, I readily combine the two, often pulling a little bit of everything from my garden to create gorgeous, delectable bouquets that are a vision to look at, and usable to draw from.

And why not put them into food!?

"A flower’s appeal is in its contradictions — so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect.”
– Terri Guillemets

Inspiration

Quite honestly, I think inspiration can come from so many resources. Once you start looking, it’s everywhere.

I pour over design resources every chance I get. They can inspire me to build a better pot on my patio, or create a gorgeous section in my garden.

I remember the day I first spied the book A Year In Flowers on the shelves of my local garden center. I thumbed through it and was hooked. The photos were awe-inspiring. I simply couldn’t get enough.

Never before had I poured through gardening books in quite the same manner. I used Floret Farm’s books as a jumping-off point to find many other sources of inspiration. (And once you jump, it’s a rabbit hole of opportunity.)

It led me to books like Rosalind Creasy’s Edible Flower Garden. It sits proudly on my shelf, taken down each season as I make my lists of things to buy at the garden store. Things to incorporate into the pots I plant, the kitchen garden I nurture throughout the season.

If you need inspiration, pick up a book. Head to your local nursery, or visit your local library. I guarantee there will be many great finds tucked into the shelves. Use them as a-ha opportunities to increase your knowledge and start planning for your seasons ahead.

Want something to get started with? I recently found an online resource I’m using as inspiration this year. I love their plant guide library, which allows you to choose your motivation and start learning. Try out their Front Yard Design or Shades of Beauty. Flipping through, I’m enamored with the color palettes on each page. It helps me plan and see a lot of things within my kitchen in a different light. Sometimes, that’s all that’s needed to brighten your mood.

Embody

What motivates you? What draws you in? I’ve long since been a sucker for a good story, a mug of tea, and the thought of a secret garden to pull up a chair and get lost in.

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
- C.S. Lewis

I remember stepping into my local nursery, and there in a corner sat a magical world. It was filled with tiny doors, mystical creatures, and lots of tiny props to add to your fairy garden. Maybe it’s the tall trees and the misty mornings of the Pacific Northwest that make me dream of a magical place far, far away. What if it were possible to live more simply?

Maybe that’s why I fell in love with these short stories.

I love how everything draws you in and makes you feel as if you’re part of the setting. And how you can easily incorporate something similar into your own lifestyle. Why can’t potted plants be a part of your dinner table? Or tiny, hand-plucked leaves fill your dishes and baskets?

Sometimes, we forget that life doesn’t have to be difficult, not if we don’t let it. Sometimes, it’s about recognizing the little things, what’s truly important to our lifestyle.

Wholesome

Anyone else grown tired of the big corporations looking to shove more material goods your way while cutting quality further and further? Ugh. A long time ago, I stopped using the “big” guys wherever possible. Why not get to know who’s creating what I’m choosing to fill my house and my life with?

When I first arrived In the Pacific Northwest, we made it a habit of heading out every weekend to see something new in the area. One afternoon led to a tour of Bob’s Red Mill - it started in Oregon just a few miles from my house - and watched how they package their goods.

I’ve been hooked ever since, and regularly find my way to the Bob’s Red Mill store every few weeks to refill my pantry. Sadly, Bob died a few weeks ago at the age of 94. But what he’s created can be an inspiration to us all. It’s a natural foods powerhouse with more than 200 products available in 70 countries. (I was excited to find a few of their products tucked on a shelf in a health store in Christchurch, New Zealand.)

I love that it’s employee-owned, responsibly sourced, and cares about our world. All food is made with integrity, non-GMO Project Verified, Organic, and Fair Trade Certified.

And walking in is an experience. They have a restaurant filled with delicious smells - sit inside or out. Or walk through the aisles and pick something up. I dare you not to pick up their cute kitchen items that beg to be a part of your cooking experience.

Honestly, I have fun there because I know I won’t be disappointed when I bring it into my kitchen. (Ever ordered something from Amazon and wondered what it was and why you had it delivered?)

When your kitchen is filled with beautiful things, you’re naturally more inclined to want to create gorgeous things. You have the motivation and the inspiration to spend time there, have fun there. Isn’t that really what it’s all about?

“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” – Luther Burbank

Weekends

I have a dare for you.

Pick something new this weekend.

A garden you’ve never been to ⛲️
A nursery you’ve never visited 🪴
A tiny shop you keep passing 🪻
Something a “friend of a friend” told you about 👩🏻‍🌾

See that place in your mind? Go there. Nose around a little. Find something new. Let it fill you with inspiration, and use it to change the way you approach life in your kitchen.

Bring home a bouquet. Or a new dish. Or a gorgeous flowered apron because it inspires you into action.

Because that’s what you need - what we all need - to live a Gorgeous Life!

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