Edible Flowers: Vertical Farming’s blossoming enterprise

Added on 07 November 2023

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Edible Flowers: Vertical Farming’s blossoming enterprise

To explore the rise of edible flowers in modern cuisine, we speak with Glen Cheynier, the General Manager of Wesh Grow. Located in a repurposed underground parking space in Paris, this innovative urban farm is a proud member of the Kroptek Network. Glen shared insights into the growing prominence of edible flowers, not only as an aesthetic enhancement to dishes but as unique capsules of flavour.

Edible flowers have been a popular dietary staple especially in countries like China where their use dates back to 3000 BCE. More recently, edible flowers have faded into the domain of exclusive top-tier chefs, however they are making a notable re-entrance into mainstream culinary scenes. With their delicate tastes and striking looks, edible flowers such as Dahlia, Cornflower and Hibiscus are gaining global appeal, and certain blooms, like chamomile also boast medicinal benefits. In the future we hope to see flowers harnessed to their fullest extents, with natural properties spanning from vibrant dyes to healing skincare treatments.

The Wesh Grow Approach

Wesh Grow have mastered eight varieties of edible flowers but are ambitiously perfecting another 10. Glen notes that selecting varieties requires a delicate balance between agronomical viability and a sound business model. Whilst there are hundreds of edible flower varieties he is focussed on cultivating varieties which produce lots of blooms. Some of the flowers they’ve cultivated with success include Viola, Marigolds, Dianthus, Snapshots, Horatio, Begonias, Oxalis, and Hyssop, among others.