It's my goal this year to learn the name of every plant in my backyard. You wouldn't believe how many useful "weeds" I've already identified, and there's lots more to go.

Makes me sigh out loud, thinking back over years spent diligently weeding the garden, only to later discover I'd been pitching out such valuable plants as:

• lambsquarters (a close cousin to spinach, but more nutritious)
• garlic mustard (highly nutritious, leaves, flowers and seed are edible, once used as medicine)
• summer purslane (leaves contain Omega-3 fatty acid and stems are high in vitamin C)
• cinquefoil (used as a vegetable and a medicine)

Ignorance is not bliss

The beauty in the photo above is Garlic Mustard, probably best known as a noxious and invasive weed (for an alternate viewpoint on "invasives", check out Prodigal Gardens' thought-provoking essay on garlic mustard and the role of these plants in the environment).

But I know wild food foragers prize this plant, and after hearing people talk about it for so long, I'm pretty excited to find it right in my own backyard.

Plants For A Future has garlic mustard in their database as being used to strengthen the digestive system, and lists its medicinal properties as antiasthmatic, antiscorbutic, antiseptic, deobstruent, diaphoretic, vermifuge and vulnerary.

"The leaves have been taken internally to promote sweating and to treat bronchitis, asthma and eczema. Externally, they have been used as an antiseptic poultice on ulcers etc, and are effective in relieving the itching caused by bites and stings. The roots are chopped up small and then heated in oil to make an ointment to rub on the chest in order to bring relief from bronchitis."