The first time I ever saw my date eat a flower from his plate at a restaurant, I thought he was just trying to impress me - with how foolish he could be. It turns out that there really are edible flowers. For instance, all herb flowers are edible. These include Italian Mint, Lavender, and Lemon Thyme - all great on salads. But ones that people may be more familiar with are pansies, squash blossoms, and nasturtiums. A great thing to do with edible flowers is to put small ones in ice cube trays and use the ice to pretty up your punch bowl.

Check out some edible-flower recipes at: http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blflowerindex.htm.