Go Wild!
Here are some more plants to be looking for in you backyard, and their health benefits... Oh yeah, that's if your one of those people smart enough not to use those toxic lawn chemicals.
Cleavers: This plant makes a wonderful herbal tea. It has traditionally been used for bladder and kidney inflammation, a blood purifying, kidney stones and fevers. The juice extracted from it has been used to treat scurvy. It is reported to have anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activity. A folk cancer remedy!
Chickweed: This plant makes its way out for the summer, but if you're lucky enough to still have some around, the whole plant is edible and can be used as a cooling demulcent and relieve coughs. It's an anti-inflammatory, and is said to curb obesity!
Sheep-Sorrel: This plant is rich in cancer-preventative vitamins. Traditionally used for fevers, inflammation and scurvy. This lovely plant makes a nice lemonade, and is rich in vitamin C.
Lambs-Quarters: According to Linda Runyon, this is the second most nutritious plant on the planet! Nothing we can buy in the grocery store, not kale, spinach or any of our cruciferous vegetables, even come close to the nutritional value of this plant!
Amaranth: AKA Pigweed. Yup, that is the name of what Linda Runyon calls the most nutritious plant on the planet!!
The majority of this information comes from the Peterson Field Guides, and there is much more information available on each of these plants. This is just a sample of what you can enjoy if you let your yard become more natural!
Let's face it... The vast majority of us have no clue how to take care of the planet we live on! We get information on how to take care of our lawns from the chemical industry in commercials that want to sell us large quantities of their highly toxic products. Many of these chemicals are known to be carcinogenic, and a good portion of the chemicals that are approved for use here in the U.S. are banned in other countries.
Our bird, bee and butterfly populations are declining rapidly, and with 20 million acres of lawn in the U.S.(more than any single crop) we could all be doing our part to create oasis for these beautiful, and beneficial beings.
So let's bring healthy creativity back to our backyards. We are missing out on a wealth of healthy nutritious, beautiful, environmentally beneficial landscapes.
I will be glad to see a change in scenery from these dull, boring, flat, green lawns that are doing almost as much to destroy our environment as our eating habits!
My advice: Do your homework, Go Wild, Go Vegan, Get creative, Join the movement back to a healthy vibrant world where everyone wins!
