Spring Lawn Flowers
A lawn with flowering weeds may be spectacular—and partially edible
May 13, 2007
Up close, the forms of tiny spring blossoms—bugle, speedwell, ground ivy, wild strawberry, violet, cinquefoil—are enchanting. By summer, others will flower—wild thyme, sheep sorrel, and self-heal. Almost all of them are not only beautiful but also edible or medicinal.
Many of these plants grow so low to the ground that their flowers will not be touched by the mower. An exception is bugle, known at plant nurseries by its Latin name, Ajuga, which the lawnowner may have to mow around, but the extra effort is worthwhile. Ajuga is sold as a ground cover and spreads readily, often turning wild. The leaves creep, but the flower stalks can grow up to a foot high, bearing brilliant blue-violet or white blossoms. It is in the mint family, not aromatic, but with the usual square stem, opposite leaves, and lipped flowers. Bees adore it.
Ground ivy is also a mint, as its aroma suggests, and a creeper, but the purple flowers grow at leaf level, not on stalks. It is anti-viral, clears lead from the body, and is used to treat ear infections. Some people like the leaf tea, which is digestive, but that’s a matter of taste.
Strawberry flowers, white with yellow centers, are familiar to most people. The wild fruits arrive in June, tiny but intensely sweet and delicious. The leaves may be used to make a mildly astringent tea. Cinquefoil leaflets are big-toothed like strawberry leaves, except there are five leaflets per leaf instead of three, and indeed the plants are closely related members of the rose family. Cinquefoil flowers are five-petaled and yellow. Leaves and flowers may be eaten in salads.
Violet leaves and flowers are also edible. The heart-shaped leaves contain a mucilage (gooey stuff) that is cooling to inflammations and ulcers. The flowers may be various shades of purple, yellow, or white with purple stripes.
Among species of speedwell, lawns may contain both germander speedwell, with small, electric blue flowers, and corn speedwell, with miniscule whitish flowers, their throats striped in violet. Of the four petals, the lower one is smaller than the other three in all speedwell species. Germander speedwell, rarely used today but listed in old herbals, is medicinally an adaptogen, meaning it helps the body adapt to changes, such as the change from austere winter to quick, giddy spring.
Then, of course, there are dandelions, whose bold, gold flowers are extravagantly beautiful. See the article Dandelion for a description of the many virtues of this edible and medicinal weed.
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