Each morning I’ve literally been going out with a colander and a pair of scissors to clip from my garden and use for my morning smoothie. but lately I’ve been venturing farther and farther from the “box”. I’ve found myself carefully and gently snipping and tending the lawn as an already-planted garden and adding it to my smoothies.
Wild plants such as Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), Chickweed (Stellaria media), Dandelions (Taraxacum officinalis) , Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) and even grass clippings are packed with phyto-nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll, and are all found on almost every lawn I see. This is the same stuff that we pay big money at health food stores to get with our exotic supplements and super foods. Perhaps a more sane solution is already present! Juice your lawn!
If you have attended my plant walks, perhaps you have heard me ranting about how you could practically juice your lawn clippings. Well actually, it’s not very far from the truth. Granted, you should know every plant that you consume on a first and last name basis. I do however, often have trouble finding poisonous plants on peoples’ lawns, with 2 exceptions, spurge (Euphorbia maculata) and Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris). Also, Groundsel is questionable due to its toxicity.
From wiki, “As a plant that is reported to be both poisonous for human ingestion and also medicinal; much of the contradiction can be found by closely reviewing the words that are used and the dose (amount) of the poisonous substance that is ingested to prove either claim. All species of the genus Senecio contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (e.g., senecionine) a substance that when a human has chronic exposure[54] can cause irreversible liver damage.[8][55]“ So what is chronic exposure? A very vague term.
Today my delicious and power-packed smoothie consists of..
-about 30 dandelion leaves
-A hand full of hairy bitter cress
-a few sprigs of grass
– a few sprigs of purple deadnettle
– a few springs of lemon balm
As well as some home ingredients, including a nub of ginger, a banana, some yogurt, 10-15 soaked hazelnuts with the water, and homemade maple syrup from a friend.
Blend it up In-Joy! And feel the healing.
Dan
p.s. of course be mindful that if you spray your lawn you are ruining the fun, although is it still comparable to gmo non organic food? probably. Use your discretion where you forage, and shop.
Also important to note. I do find buttercup (Rannunculus spp.) on lawns. Another plant to avoid consuming! Ill work that into the article soon.