An eccentric gardener is showing us exactly which flowers we can eat and how they taste.
Instagrammer Austin Graf (@buzzedblooms), who has over 80,000 followers and describes himself as a "garden coach," posted a quick Reel showing viewers which flowers are edible.
"They kind of taste like nothing with an aftertaste of gross!" he says in the clip.
The scoop
Graf begins the video in a garden where he tells those watching there are five flowers that are edible and "make a tasty tasty snack snack."
The five edible flowers he outlines are nasturtium, zinnias, bachelor buttons (aka cornflowers), dill, and dahlias.
How it's helping
Although Graf admits some of these flowers don't exactly taste that great by themselves, many can be used as spices and can encourage us to grow our own foods that can include more commonly eaten produce, like vegetables and fruits.
Growing your own food, along with your own spices, has many benefits, both for our own health and that of the planet.
For one, gardening requires physical activity, which in itself is beneficial to our health.
One of the most obvious advantages is the long-term cost savings by eliminating the need to buy produce from stores.
Also, depending on where you live and where you prefer to shop, store-bought produce, like fruits, vegetables, and even spices that come from edible flowers, often come wrapped in harmful plastic, causing significant environmental damage.
The United States alone discards approximately 40 million tons of plastic waste annually, and only a meager 5% of it gets recycled.
What everyone's saying
People had plenty to say about the informative Reel.
"You could have a career on the food network. I'd totally watch that," one person wrote.
Another added that we should not forget about a flower called borage. "I've been growing them in my vegetable beds the last couple years. The flowers have a cucumber taste!"
One commenter admitted they always watch everything on mute "because of my lil kids, but I can tell I need to follow you because I can feel your energy and I love it. I need it in my life."
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