Each variety of edible blossoms has its own way of adding color and taste to a finished dish

Gertrude Sokolowsky prides herself on setting a beautiful luncheon table.

It’s a given that the president of the South Shore Garden Club is sure to spotlight a centerpiece of freshly-cut flowers, expertly arranged and strategically placed to draw guests’ attention. But just as important, she’s often grown the flowers in her own garden.

The Princes Bay resident doesn’t limit the flowers to just the effect they have on the visual and olfactory senses. Quite often she invites her guests to taste the bounty of the spring and summer offerings.

She’ll toss some edible yellow daisies and bright-orange nasturtium into a salad, or spoon a tuna salad, or cottage cheese into a circle of gladiola petals. Or perhaps company will find violets in the punch and Johnny Jump-ups added to cake frosting.

Some days Mrs. Sokolowsky is inspired to sprinkle pansies on snippets of rye bread that have been spread with cream cheese. For a wow-factor, she sometimes freezes pansies in ice cube trays to create cubes for the punch.

“I even tell people to eat the centerpiece,” said Mrs. Sokolowsky, who, in addition to being a nutrition counselor and nurse, leads workshops on the use of culinary herbs and edible flowers as a member of the Staten Island Herb Society. BEAUTY PLUS NUTRIENTS

It’s no mistake, many flowers add a tasty component as well as beauty and nutrients to a meal, she says.

This supposed secret is known to gardeners everywhere, especially those who collect compost and avoid the use of pesticides.

It certainly is a familiar concept for Martie Majoros, who currently is research editor for the Old Farmer’s Almanac All-Season’s Garden Guide based in Dublin, N.H.

“Growing flowers for food is a fun thing to do and it’s visually attractive,” said Ms. Majoros, who knows from experience. Her vibrant edible garden with violets and nasturtium was so appealing, she noted, her dog loved eating the tops off her violets before she could collect them for the dinner table.