Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn't Know You Could Eat

by Ellen Zachos

There’s food growing everywhere! You’ll be amazed by how many of the plants you see each day are actually nutritious edibles. Ideal for first-time foragers, this book features 70 edible weeds, flowers, mushrooms, and ornamental plants typically found in urban and suburban neighborhoods. Full-color photographs make identification easy, while tips on common plant locations, pesticides, pollution, and dangerous flora make foraging as safe and simple as stepping into your own backyard.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Food, Nature, Cookbooks, Reference, Plants

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2013

About the author

A graduate of Harvard/Radcliffe College, Ms. Zachos resides in New York.

Reviews

[da AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does a great job of showing as well as describing. Who knew that so many goodies are right beneath our feet?

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The list title, 'Books I Want On Hand When The Zombie Apocalypse Hits', says it all. I had fun reading it.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new take on foraging: not just plants that grow wild, but landscaping plants that have unexpected edibility. And it is done very well, with good background material, clear photographs, clear directions, and a key for what and when to harvest. The author claims that she doesn't include anything that doesn't appeal to her as quite tasty. A forager could easily use this as her first foraging guide.

The only quibble I have with this book is that the table of contents does not list the edibles specifically, only the categories which the author sorts them into. Because this includes yard plants, it covers items not in other handbooks. Of particular interest are the edible parts of Hosta, Pineapple Weed, Chameleon plant, Malabar spinach, Cornelian cherry, Quince, Hawthorn, Serviceberry, Kousa dogwood, Passionflower, Oregon grape, Pineapple Guava, Redbud, Rose of Sharon, Strawberry tree, firethorn, Lilac, Magnolia, Gingko, Canna, Dahlia, and Daylily. The author also includes "five easy mushrooms." The very variety that I, a seasoned reader-of-foraging books, found brought to my attention is a good sign of the book's quality. (Yes, a number of these sent me to google the evidence of ediblity, I was so surprised!)

Like all good foraging guides, this includes instructions for avoiding near-lookalikes and cautions to use additional guides and not eat anything you're not sure of. There's also a section on preserving and cooking your foraged prizes.

Gardeners interested in unusually edible landscaping and those interested in just foraging around the neighborhood are the prime target for this book... and if they're like me, they will want to own a copy.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know you can eat hosta, spice bush, lilac, and dahlia? This book gives factual information about how to harvest, when to harvest, and how to prepare. Even if you never plan to eat any of these plants, it is worthwhile to skim the book -- it is truly amazing!

[Sanju · Rating 5 out of 5]

As i began reading this book, I was reminded of two things. First, of a story a long-ago friend once told me. The second thing was the essay, "My School," by Tagore.

I had this friend who told me a story about his grandmother. Like most Indian grandmothers who live in India but visit their children who have immigrated to the U.S., his would spend several months at his home in Pennsylvania every year. Both his parents worked, so his grandmother kept herself occupied during the day with various hobbies as well as cooking family dinner.

One evening, she had served a particularly delicious bhaji. Everyone in the family relished it and the whole pan of it got finished quickly. After the dinner, my friend's parents asked this grandmother which vegetable she had used to make the bhaji. She told them the Indian names. But, they didn't remember ever having bought those vegetables or even ever having seen them in the grocery stores in Pennsylvania. So, they asked her where had she found these vegetables. She took them out into the yard and showed them all the weeds she had plucked. From then on, "weed bhaji," became a family staple in my friend's home.

This book reminded me of this story. I was amazed that chickweed, something that I have been pulling out in droves from a flower bed over the last five years, and then throwing into the green bin, can be cooked and used as bhaji. As can hostas. And even daylily tubers. What fun!

This is a cookbook. And, an adventure book. And a treasure hunt book! Since we have maintained our yards completely chemical-free, I can feel confident we will have the safest garden mesclun available freshly picked. I can't wait to send the kids outside to pick our dinner salads!

I checked this book out today after coming across it on the new books shelf at the library. But, now, I've decided to order a copy for my family.

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to tell my mom to plant Bishop's Weed in the mow strips ;)

This is a mighty fine book. It's approachable and encouraging. For each edible, she includes photos, where to look for it, how to identify it (including clearly distinguishing it from inedible look-alikes), when to harvest it, which part(s) to eat, and how to prepare it to yummiest effect. It's just gorgeously designed. My favorite design element, I think, is the simple graphic above the plant name indicating the season(s) in which harvest is available. (I'd like to be able to harvest greens from my yard throughout the winter.)

I think this is great whether or not you're preparing for A-Zombigeddon, whether or not you're interested in mushroom hunting or cultivating, whether or not you'd ever make dandelion wine.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and the information is presented in a fun way. While I thought I knew a fair amount about foraging in the woods, I never knew that hostas and dahlia tubers were edible. (Not that I want to eat my dahlia tubers-- I prefer looking at the flowers). And what I always called snow-on-the-mountain (I believe the author called it bishop's weed)is also edible. I must have a year's supply of that! Would make a great reference book.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. There were plenty of pictures (good ones too), this was well written and easy to understand, a little fun to go with the information, and enlightening. I didn't realize there were so many things that could be eaten that we don't even think about. I definitely want to give some of these a try and maybe a little more after that. This was very informative and had clear instructions. A great book for dipping in the shallow end of foraging and makes it sound easy and for anybody. I've started looking at everyday plants a little differently. Happy Hunting!

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book filled an interesting niche: it focused more on unusual garden edibles than it did actual wild edibles (though it had some of these too). It was well-photographed and I loved the fact that she included cooking tips for each plant.

This book did have a huge issue though: there are no location-range maps included. About halfway through she mentioned that she lived in Pennsylvania, but, apart from a few specific plants (such as miner's lettuce which grows wild only on the west coast) she didn't include anything about where these plants generally grow. I took off a star simply for that.

Another issue (though more minor) is that she has a very chatty style of writing. This was occasionally grating, most specifically when she mentions that something is edible but she simply doesn't like the taste, so she decided not to include it. This is despite mentioning repeatedly that everyone has different palates and not all plants will be for everyone.

However, despite those two quibbles, I really enjoyed this and read it almost cover to cover. Definitely recommended to people interested in the topic.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting topic and I liked the author's sassy voice. Also cool that it had recipes and other references. But not really a book for a beginner forager I didn't think - felt like the author assumed you already knew quite a bit of safety basics. For example, she casually mentions in the into by way of a story about her nephew that berries with a cap that has five leaves means it's edible. A useful tip but I didn't find it anywhere in the berries section (unless I missed it), just a small mention in the intro.

I'm definitely going to look into the pre-stuffed logs that you can grow shiitake mushrooms from outside, for several years, from one of the resources she lists!

[Mary Codd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be very helpful. The photographs are good and the information is thorough and well presented. This book is ideal for someone new to foraging like myself. There’s no need to put on your hiking boots because the edible weeds, flowers, mushrooms, and ornamental plants featured in the book are typically found in urban or suburban neighborhoods. You can just wander out into your backyard and find gourmet produce!

[Sagely · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy-does-it introduction to foraging. Far less hippy than I'd hoped (or feared). This is a decent place toe-in-the-water kind of start.

However, BF provides far less information on positive identification than I would need to take the book into my backyard. Also, it's more temperate than my northern prairie locale, so only a few of the forageables apply in my case.

Still, a nice, beautifully photographed intro.

[Anie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly solid book. A guide to foraging for beginners, it focuses on plants you're likely to have in your own yard - whether by choice or accident. It's pretty detailed, with a good amount of information on when and how, and taste; it also has a lovely collection of recipes at the end. It certainly has me stalking my own backyard.

[Kristina Seleshanko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from my local library, but will definitely be buying my own copy. This full color guide is unique in that it does a great job combining common weeds and common garden plants - all edible. There are even a few recipes.

[Elizabeth Gajdosik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never in my life have I been more enthralled by plants and so inspired to grow them!

[Wendi · Rating 5 out of 5]

228 pages of "Oh, wow! I didn't know you could eat that!" I can't wait to try some of these things.

[Nannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so I definitely misunderstood what this book was about. My interpretation of the title was “edible plants that could be found in your own backyard,” when really this book was about “edible plants you might not know about that you could buy for (or transplant into) your backyard.”

Don’t get me wrong, it’s interesting, but not really what I was looking for. I don’t have a lot of backyard space I could turn into a garden, edible or otherwise, so I'm not really interested in having to buy plants from a garden center first before being able to harvest. But there is also information about wild plants in here, too, and the information is pretty good! I love the icons at the top of the pages that clearly say what season to go and look for the plants, because foraging is all about living by the seasons.

Something I really didn't like was the author also inserting herself into the guide wherever and whenever possible. Her humor didn't connect with me, but that’s subjective (except for her use of AAVE … it’s not “cute” or funny). Whenever talking about a plant that could be used to make a tea, she had to say how much she disliked tea in general; she always had to say whether or not a plant tasted good or if she personally liked it, wasting precious page space (“Lilacs are a much-loved garden shrub. Admittedly, it’s a heavy scent. I wouldn’t wear it, but I sure love to stick my nose in a bunch of lilac flowers. I don’t get too excited about edible blooms (...) They’re novelty items that offer visual and textural interest at best.”).

However, I really liked the information about how to harvest safely (like avoiding pesticides, down to how far away from the road you can forage), the equipment needed to forage, the section about what books to read next, and the recipes included in the back. It's an okay guide overall, just not what I thought it would be. Which ... fair, I could have read the back first.

[Oceana · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introduction. You'll definitely need other books to be sure you correctly identify most of these plants.
But know which you can safely eat a lot of vs which you'll want to harvest sparingly was nice. Worth the read but not as much as I'd hoped for.

[Day Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not as humourous as How to Forage for Wild Foods without Dying, Backyard Foraging is a wealth of knowledge on the subject. I have already begun to plan my dream garden based off of these two books and felt they solidified some botanical knowledge for me.

[Elisha Hollis · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don’t know if it’s because i’m new to foraging/edible plants but this book does not seem detailed enough to be a reliable source to identify plants.

[Nile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Very well written and engaging with clear pictures and practical information. It’s very well organized and clear, telling you how to identify the plant, where it grows, common lookalikes, how and what part of the plant to harvest, and some eating suggestions. She stays away from specific recipes but tells you the types of dishes or other items that this could be a substitute for. There were a few recipes at the end, but I’m not sure I’ll use any of them. The general knowledge was the gem of this book.

If you’re pressed for time, I’d recommend using the index to find plants you already. Then take a look at chapter 7 SUPERSTARS: Plants with Many Edible Parts.

[Alexander Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with great full-color photos!

[h · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Sectioned well, and gives excellent information without being too prolific.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read on foraging! Includes 65 very common plants, some ornamental and some you would find in your lawn. Each plant has a two page spread in the book and includes a discription of the plant, how to harvest it and how to eat it. There are not really recipes included but there is a section at the end with preserving advice and some very basic recipes.

[Cindy DeLong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book; especially the part about eating Rose of Sharon. 🌹

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun ride, people, although I will admit that it's for a very niche audience :P Your average suburban or urban human isn't going to be terribly interested in foraging for food with the plethora of easily-bought comestibles available on every street corner. BUT if you like to know where your food comes from, if you want to learn more about native plants and their uses, or you just like to gamify your life, you would enjoy this book.

I, the daughter of horticulturalists, a n00b vegetable gardener, and an aspiring zero-waster, enjoyed immensely. The book is chock-full of useful information, pictures, and nice touches of personality throughout. Also, she makes it sound so easy to make jelly that I may have to actually try it next summer - my rather posh neighbourhood is full of crabapples, rowans, and service berries, and her descriptions make them all sound so good.

***

Upon re-reading: The thing I appreciate this time around, having learned a bit more about introduced and invasive species, is that some of these invasive species are edible and an excellent zero-waste approach to keeping them under control is to eat them! I still don't think I would choose to plant goutweed in my garden, but a silver lining is a silver lining.

[Don MacAlpine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a forester, this book was shown to me by a friend... primarily because of fiddlehead discussions we were having... I confess that I only browsed it and stopped at plants I wanted to read about in the one hour that I had it in hand... Gingko biloba, junipers .... etc. ... now, I am buying one for that friend, so that I can borrow it when I want.

It is an excellent reference book with incredible pictures. Its major shortcoming is a lack of 'species range maps' to help filter out 'unlikelies' in your region of North America. For example, having worked in Canadian forestry, I know that Gingko biloba may be a common exotic in some more southern Canadian cities but impossible to grow in others... BUT, for how things can be eaten, and what parts (eg-May Apple), this book is a handy reference for common city plants I have encountered in my travels... in the forests and cities too

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I can harvest what I plant in my own yard because I know exactly what is being grown. That is not true for when I take hikes in the local hills, or take walks around parks and in the neighborhood.

One thing about harvesting unknown plants is while they may look tasty or have a great smell, you just never know what is poisonous and what is safe. Backyard Foraging details many of the different edible plants and other stuff that can be found growing natively or naturally from the ground. An excellent read for those interested in learning how to identify which can be eaten and which you should avoid.

[Marfita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful photos, readable text, but I would have liked clearer warnings about problems, like the yew seeds. Perhaps a sidebar to point up any toxins or other dangers would be useful. I noticed nothing was mentioned about the mulberry, which can be hallucinogenic when unripe. The author leaves it up to the reader to decide on the carcinogenic reputation of sassafras. This is one of my favorite flavors and while I have nibbled on the sassafras stem just to sample it, I wouldn't make a habit of drinking large amounts of the tea. I'll stick with licorice and wintergreen, my other favorite flavors.
I certainly want to check my yard for anything edible now!

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty cool. I find it really interesting that you can actually eat many things that you can find in your backyard. I don't know that I would want to eat some of those plants, but hey, it's still cool. The author is an expert at this and gives some good tips. The pictures were nice so you could actually see what she was talking about. She gave some good advice regarding foraging on the side of busy roads. The exhaust and other chemicals from driving come out and can saturate the plants. I always pick the berries by the road that I grew up on but it's out in the country I doubt it has that much pollution hanging around.