Foraging in Your
Front Yard Sara Schuster
NOTE: before you start foraging, always make sure you are 100% certain in your plant identification before eating something, and don’t eat anything from yards that have been sprayed. One of my happiest first signs of spring is the return of vibrant plant growth to my yard. Three of my favorites that I’d love to share with you are dandelions, violets, and chickweed. All three of these plants are simple to identify, have edible parts, and are a cornerstone of my herbal preparations. Back before we had year-round access to produce, these mineral-rich herbs were a welcome kickstart to our diets after a winter without fresh vegetables. They’re also easy to incorporate into your meals! Besides being free and tasty, these plants are often more nutritionally dense than the greens we can purchase at the grocery store.
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Dandelion is familiar to almost all of us from our childhoods, and so is easy to spot. Sadly, many people attempt to remove this plant from their lawns, viewing it as a weed and a nuisance. Every part of this herbal powerhouse – the root, the leaves,
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and the flower – is beneficial though! I prefer to dig dandelion roots in the fall, when they have a higher level of inulin, but in spring their greens and flowers are absolutely delicious. The greens get more bitter as the leaves get larger, so you’ll want to harvest these when they’re young and tender. They’re a fun addition to your salads or can be dried as part of an herbal tea. The yellow ray florets of the flowerhead can be pulled off and added to your salads as well. And let’s not forget about the joys of making dandelion wine! Violets, with their bright purple flowers, are also simple to find in your yard. Both the leaves and the flowers are edible and are a fun way to jazz up salads (who doesn’t love edible flowers?). The leaves can also be added to your soups and stews, or lightly sauteed with other vegetables. Violet leaves provide a good amount of soluble fiber as well as Vitamins A and C. The flowers are quite versatile in the kitchen—they can be candied as a decoration for desserts, frozen into ice cubes to impress your guests the next time you host an event, or infused into a gorgeous purple-hued simple syrup. If you feel like getting adventurous and beginning to learn about some herbal preparations, violet leaves can also be infused into oils to make a cooling, soothing salve.
