Gardening: Edible native plants can thrive in home gardens

Interest has grown in foraging for native edible plants in recent years. Many of the plants we commonly see in the wild in the region have edible berries, leaves, flower and even roots. The nice thing is that you don’t have to go into the wild to find them – many of them will thrive in your yard.

Edible native plants are also great additions to your landscape by providing interesting shapes, sizes and seasonal color. They will also draw wildlife and birds into your garden. To get you started on incorporating native plants into your landscape, the Spokane Conservation District is hosting a Native Edible Plant workshop on Tuesday. This is followed by their annual Backyard Conservation Stewardship class on the Mondays in March from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the district offices. The series will native plants for the garden, composting and soil health, developing wildlife habitat, organic gardening and urban tree care.

Edible native plants are very easy to find because many of them are already common garden plants or are abundant in our natural landscape. We all have seen the white flowers of serviceberry in the spring covering the dry hillsides around Spokane and along the Spokane River. Those white flowers turn into a delicious blue berry in late June that can be eaten fresh or made into jam –that is if you beat the birds to them. The plant itself makes a nice, airy small tree in the garden. Some cultivars have beautiful red to orange fall color.

Another common native edible plant is the wild rose. It is commonly found along roadsides and at the edge of forested areas north and east of Spokane. In late spring its simple five-petaled, medium pink flowers brighten the woods. It’s newly emerged leaves can be added to salads, soups and omelets while the flowers can be made into sweet rose water, jams and teas. In the late summer and early fall the bright red to orange berries or rose hips can be used in jams and jellies. They have flavors that range from bright cherry to mild pumpkin and are very high in vitamin C. Wild roses in the home landscape take room as most of them spread by underground roots which is perfect for those empty corners you don’t want to maintain.

Blue elderberry is commonly found in riparian areas in the region which makes it a perfect plant for the home garden where water is readily available. Like the wild rose, it needs space to grow so it would do well as a screening plant or in that back corner. In the spring, it is covered with clouds of small white flowers that can be batter fried or made into a delicious tea. The blue to black berries can be cooked into jams, jellies or pies or made into elderberry wine. The berries contain slightly toxic alkaloids and must be cooked before eating.