At last it's June and my garden is finally packed full of colour and perfume. The long winter seems a distant memory, and both my vegetable garden and the cottage style beds that we put in round the oast house last year are full of plants ready for the harvesting. This month it's marigolds, lavender, borage and rose; later in the summer courgette flowers, nasturtiums and the flowers from the runner beans. I've already used the spring flowers such as primroses and violas to add early interest scattered into salads or as a flavouring for any creamy sauce or stuffing for pasta dishes. The cottage gardens of the past had to work hard for those who tended them, and every plant needed to justify the space it occupied. Plant uses ranged from herbal remedies to beauty treatments, as a cooking ingredient, to provide dyes or to make teas and tisanes. As we rediscover the wisdom of previous generations when it comes to growing more of our own food, it all makes sense that plants that work on so many levels earn a place in our modern gardens.

I still find it eminently satisfying that all the flowers that I have 'companion' planted amongst my vegetables are perfect for cooking with. My marigolds help keep green and white fly away from my tomatoes whilst I'm praying that the nasturtiums do what I've been assured they should and keep the caterpillars away from my cabbages. Last year was a disaster for all things brassica and so I live in hope! But whatever the outcome in the battleground of the garden, in the kitchen flowers will appear in all kinds of dishes including the recipes shown here. If using flowers in cooking make sure you use ones that have not been sprayed with pesticides or other agricultural chemicals. Ideally pick from your own garden.

Leaves and flowers salad with nettle dressing and marigold and Parmesan scones

Cottage gardens were designed to be as productive as possible and many of the traditional flowers grown had all kinds of uses from the medicinal, use as dyes or in recipes. I grow marigolds in my veg garden to try to distract the green and white fly from my tomatoes but the petals are also for adding wonderful colour and their peppery taste to all kinds of dishes such as these scones. In fact calendula was known as 'poor man's saffron' in the Middle Ages when it was used for its distinctive yellow colour

Serves: 4-6. Prepare: 20 mins. Cook: 12 mins

For the pastry:

• 175g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 75g butter, diced

For the filling:

For the salad:

• 200g mixed salad leaves
• 12-16 seasonal flower heads (I used viola)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp nettle cordial (homemade or I use one by Thorncroft)
• 3-4 tbsp local cold pressed rapeseed oil or a mild oil such as sunflower

For the scones:

• 225g plain flour
• 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
• large pinch of salt
• 50g cold butter, diced
• 4 tbsp grated Parmesan
• 8-10 marigold heads, petals picked off
• 1 free-range egg
• 100ml milk

1 Preheat the oven to 220C gas mark 7. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture is the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the Parmesan and marigold petals then whisk the egg with the milk and add to the dry ingredients. Mix to a soft dough then turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead very lightly to form a round.

2 Roll out to 2.5cm thick and cut out 5cm rounds. You should have about 8-10. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes until risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack.

3 Wash the salad leaves and flowerheads and place in a bowl. Whisk the lemon juice, cordial and oil with seasoning and toss the salad. Serve with the scones and slices of good locally produced ham.

Aga cooks: Cook the scones in the lower half of the roasting oven for 10-12 minutes.

Strawberry, black pepper and rose petal meringues

Inspired by the flavours of Morocco, in this recipe rose petals infuse caster sugar with their delicate perfume. Use the sugar for sponges and cupcakes or for these wonderful meringues. The flavour of the strawberries is enhanced by a sprinkling of black pepper which balances the delicacy of the rose

Serves: 8. Prepare: 20 mins. Cook: 2 hrs

• 3 egg whites
• 175g rose petal sugar (see below)
• 250g strawberries, hulled
• 3/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 300ml pot double cream, lightly whipped
• rose petals and extra strawberries to decorate

1 Preheat the oven to 140C gas mark 1. For the meringues place the egg whites in a really clean bowl and whisk until stiff enough to form peaks. Whisk in the rose sugar a tablespoon at a time until the mixture is really thick and glossy. Pile in small spoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with baking parchment. Bake for 1.5-2 hours until pale golden and crisp then turn off the oven and leave to cool overnight. When cold, store until needed in an airtight container.

2 To assemble, mash half the strawberries with the pepper and caster sugar then fold into the whipped cream. Chop the remaining strawberries and stir in. Use the cream to sandwich the meringues in pairs. Pile onto a serving plate and scatter with rose petals and extra whole strawberries.

Aga cooks: If using the Aga cook your meringues in the warming oven overnight, or for a two-oven cook in the bottom simmering oven for 1½ hours then leave to cool still on the trays set on a rack. If you like your meringues dry then you can sit the tray on the top of the lid of the simmering plate for an hour or so to continue to dry out.

Lavender panna cotta with raspberries

For the first time this summer I am hoping to be able to make this dessert with totally homegrown fruit and flowers as long as my lavender bounces back after the frosts, snow and ice of our winter. One of the best uses I've found for flower sugars is in creamy desserts such as this panna cotta. Use your flavoured sugar to flavour custard and other creamy desserts such as crème brulee

Serves: 6. Prepare: 15 mins. Chilling: at least 3 hrs or overnight

• 300ml double cream
• 300ml full cream milk
• 50g lavender sugar (see below)
• 2 sheets gelatine or 2 tsp powdered gelatine
• 450g fresh raspberries, washed

1 Line six ramekins with cling film and place on a tray. Heat the cream and milk together with the lavender sugar in a pan until just reaching simmering point. Remove from the heat.

2 If using sheet gelatine place in a bowl of cold water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the water and stir into the warmed cream mixture until melted. For powdered gelatine, sprinkle the gelatine over two tablespoons of water in a ramekin and leave until it becomes spongy. Sit the ramekin in a pan of simmering water and melt very gently. Stir into the warmed cream.

3 Pour the mixture into the lined ramekins, leave to cool then transfer to the fridge to chill. Leave for at least 3 hours until set or overnight.

4 Just before serving turn the panna cotta out onto individual serving plates and serve with the raspberries. You can decorate with sugared lavender flowers if desired.

For sugared flowers, pick clean, perfect flower heads or petals. Dip into lightly whisked egg white and then into caster sugar to lightly coat. Leave on sheets of baking parchment to dry.

To make flower sugar: (make a week before you want to use it)

• 300g golden caster sugar
• 10-12 tbsp chopped flower petals (rose petals/lavender heads/marigold heads)

Process or blend the sugar with the flower heads until broken into tiny pieces.
Tip into an airtight jar and seal.
Store in a cool dark place for a week before using.
You can sieve the flower pieces out if you want. I like to leave them in for colour and texture but it's up to you whether you mind spitting out small pieces of flowers!