Fruits, vegetables, leaves and roots, all from your carefully cultivated garden, make for healthy and tasty eating. But did you know there are a few things that are growing in your garden or wild around your yard that are healthy and tasty too?
Dandelions
Known mostly as the enemy of the lawn, dandelions are actually quite nutritious, and are prized around the world for their greens. If harvested when still young and before they flower, the slight bitterness of the leaves is balanced by a somewhat spicy flavor. They are a great addition to salads or sandwiches.
Nasturtiums
Both the leaves and the flowers of this trailing plant make good additions to salads, potato salad, or seafood dishes. Whole flowers also make fun decorations for cakes! Be careful to wash the bugs away, however, as they like to hide in the spurred leaves.
Wild Asparagus
Wild asparagus can be tricky to find if you don’t know how to look for it. But once you know how to spot the tall, yellowed stalks of last year’s asparagus plant, you can start rooting at the base for the new tender shoots. Be careful to not harvest stalks that have gone to seed. You should be able to return to the same plant several times during the growing season to collect new growth.
Wild Onions or Garlic
Tall grass like stems and an unmistakable aroma herald the presence of wild onion or garlic. Be certain though that the plant both looks and smells like onion or garlic. Plants that look similar but do not have the right scent may be toxic. These can be eaten or cooked just like garden-variety onions and garlic.
