Harvesting ornamental & wild plants for food and other uses

[Tanuki]

12. Chickweed, sorrel and dock (curly or yellow) are very common and often even grow

in people's lawns. These are all nutritious and can be added to salads, and you could also steam the dock as a veggie or add it to a soup. You can eat both the flowers and leaves of nasturtiums, and the flowers of anything in the onion family (chives, garlic, etc.) and the violet family (pansies and johnny jump-ups). These are all lovely in a salad or as a garnish. I have frozen violets and pansies in ice cubes and served them in drinks! Squash and pumpkin blossoms are delicious. You could print out pictures from the internet before you go foraging to make sure you are picking the right thing if you are not sure.

(Editing to add that you will need to cook the squash and pumpkin blossoms---they are popular in southwestern and native American cooking, and here are some recipe ideas:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&p=squash+blossom+recipe )