12 Plants You Should Never Pull from Your Backyard
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Gardening enthusiasts often focus on removing weeds and unwanted plants to maintain a tidy and productive backyard. However, not all plants should be discarded. Some possess valuable attributes. Recognizing these beneficial plants can enhance your gardening experience and contribute to a more harmonious ecosystem outside your door.
In this guide, we will explore twelve plants that you should consider keeping in your backyard.
Dandelion
The problem with dandelions is their fast rate of reproduction and have a tendency to overgrow lawns. But this plant is so common that people might not even know it can be eaten or even has healing qualities. Leaves of the dandelion can be eaten in a salad while the flowers can be processed into a tea or wine. It also reveals that the root of the plant has anti–inflammatory and digestive system benefits.
Clover
Another plant with clover is also neglected and considered as unwanted on the territory of the garden. However, this aquatic plant serves the soil right for it avails nitrogen to it making it a natural fertilizer. It also helps to bring beneficial insects like bees and butterflies to your plants thus a better environment.
Nettles
According to Healthline, Stinging nettles are famous for a reason but contrary to the name, this plant leaves can be used to prepare tea or soup, and that is why it’s rich in vitamins and minerals. This plant is also used in treatment; it is used in the treatment of arthritis aching muscles, and also used in reducing allergic reactions.
Purslane
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Purslane is considered as a weed because it grows almost in every type of soil. But still this plant contains a lot of nutrients and has been used in traditional medicine for treatment of inflammation. It can also be used as a condiment in salads or prepared and used as a vegetable.
Plantain
Plantains are not tubers, but a type of weed that grow in lawns and have been used for years for medicinal purposes. It contains some groups of compounds that may support the body to fight against inflammation and bacteria. The leaves can also be mashed and used externally to relieve pains from insect bites and any skin rash.
Wild Garlic
Wild garlic more commonly known as wild leeks is generally seen as a nuisance as it tends to grow in large numbers and has pungent smell. However, this plant is an insect repellent and possesses some taste when used in preparing foods. It also has anti-bacterial and anti fungal features, and could be used effectively in any backyard as well.
Queen Anne’s Lace
Queen Anne’s Lace or wild carrot might look like a common plant that grows on the sides of the road but this plant is edible and quite useful. The roots also can be eaten as carrots, seed is used for seasoning, or pressed for oil. It is for this reason that the flowers contain chemicals that have proven to have anti inflammatory and analgesic properties.
Wild Violets
Wild violets are usually categorized as a noxious weed because they reproduce asexually through rhizomes. However, these slim arching spikes of delicate purple flowers are an early spring source of nectar for pollinators and the flowers are edible. Their leaves are eaten raw with salads or can be steamed like other green vegetables, the flowers are candied or used to prepare tea.
Wild Strawberries
Wild strawberries look lovely growing through your lawn, but most homeowners consider them as undesirable intrusion because of their invasive nature. However, these small berries are full of taste and vitamins, that is why they can be useful as a snack. They also bring birds and other wildlife to your garden.
Milkweed
This is due to its tall and unattractive look in gardens, and that is why it is referred to as milkweed. Nevertheless, this plant is an important one for monarch butterflies because it is the only plant on which the caterpillars can feed. They also admit other beneficial insects and serve as a nectar for pollinating insects.
Mullein
Although it has a tall stalk and fuzzy leaves, many a time, people would not consider having this plant in their garden. But this plant has other health benefits especially with regards to respiratory system where it has been used for years in treatment of coughs and asthma. It also has yellow flowers, which makes it an ideal plant for bees and butterfly populations.
Yarrow
Yarrow is considered a weed in gardens because of the control it exerts over them, this is an herbaceous perennial with several medicinal uses. Some of its uses include preparing tea from its leaves, or even pounding it to produce an ointment with anti-inflammatory properties; the flower can also be used in herbs for treatment of digestive system and to treat open wounds.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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