Reclaiming the lawn can mean more than killing off dandelions or composting weeds that have been pulled. Millions of people eat their yards. That's right, they stew them, saute them, and sometimes toss the whole thing in a salad. There are many edible 'weeds' that are just waiting to be worked into lunch.

These so called weeds are often plants that our forbears ate on a daily basis.Garlic mustard, for example. This plant escaped cultivation and has become a nuisance. It is edible, which is one way to help eradicate it from our forests. Everyone should pick as much as they like, state governments encourage extensive foraging of this plant. Some even offer recipes! The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens website is one of these. Take a second to visit them, the website is written well- fun and informative.

Without further ado- two plants from your edible lawn!

This plant is found anywhere man has settled, outside of arctic or extreme desert areas. The human race has been eating chickweed and using it medicinally throughout history.

Easy to identify, chickweed offers itself to a variety of uses in the kitchen and in herbal medicine cabinets. Skin ailments that cause itching can be soothed by applying the juice or a tea made from the plant to the afflicted area. When the whole body itches, a bath made with chickweed- fresh or dried- can often get rid of itching where all other medicines have failed. This same bath can help people with rheumatism!

As a food, chickweed is very nutritious and can be eaten raw or cooked. The younger leaves are great in salads and older parts of the plant can be cooked like spinach. People often cannot even tell they are eating chickweed in place of chopped spinach.

For help identifying the herb, visit the Virginia Tech page on chickweed.

This is probably one plant that everyone can identify with no problem. The sunny yellow flowers are the bane of lawn enthusiasts everywhere. Instead of digging, pulling, or spraying dandelions, just eat the plant! A yard full of dandelions can be used so many ways- sauteed as a green, in a salad, and even as a drink.

Dandelion has diuretic properties, which means that it can help the body eliminate extra water. Along with this properties, dandelion is very good at supporting the liver. Nearly all herbal liver support preparations have dandelion included in the ingredients. Part of the liver aiding portion of dandelion is the ability to cause increase in bile production. Bile breaks down fatty acids, so weight loss herbal concoctions also often include dandelion.

A delicate and flavorful wine has been made from the flowers for almost as long as the plant has been used for food. Ancient people were an industrious and creative bunch when it came to wines! Here's an easy recipe that doesn't use all sorts of fancy wine making equipment – The Notecook Dandelion Wine Recipe.

Other recipes are available on the internet, many call for the addition of raisins, oranges, or lemons. Try experimenting with adding other flowers for subtle undertones. Some interesting flower blossoms that are compatible with dandelions are: blue violet blossoms, honeysuckle blossoms, and elderberry flowers. Experiment with the volumes- remove 1 cup dandelion-replace with 1 cup alternative and so on.

Happy foraging!