I was out in my yard yesterday and noticed a ton of maple seeds on the ground. It got me curious about other unexpected edible plants that might be growing around. I've heard that dandelion greens are popular, and surprisingly, hosta shoots and stonecrop are edible too! I want to know—what else do you have in your yard that isn't specifically grown for food, but can be eaten?
4 Answers
I eat a bunch of stuff from my yard! Dandelions, nettles, dryad saddle mushrooms, and if I'm lucky, some morels. Violets are great too—I use them in herbal tea, and it turns a cool color when the kids add lemon. Pansies, redbud flowers, and cornflowers are fun additions to salads. I’m not a fan of garlic mustard, but you can technically eat that too. I don’t touch the spring shoots of my Japanese knotweed after treating it with chemicals, but they’re edible if you confirm they’re safe.
I've got a huge patch of wild violets, and someone recently told me they're edible! I haven't tried them yet, but I'm curious. Also, nasturtium is in my garden—it’s beautiful, and the flowers taste good too!
I grow sunflowers mainly for the birds, but sometimes I’m tempted to harvest the heads to cook them. Also, I've got borage flowers and calendula; I knew about the medicinal use of calendula but didn’t realize you could eat both the petals and leaves until recently!
Wood sorrel pops up everywhere in my yard and sometimes finds its way into salads. I also have a lot of dead nettle; they say it’s edible, but honestly, it doesn’t look too appetizing to me. And don’t get me started on the yucca! That stuff is everywhere—I could dig up yucca root all day!