by Linda Gray

Allow a small patch of your garden to grow daisies, nettles,
dandelions and even a bramble or two. The secret to containing
your weeds in a small patch is not to let them seed and spread
their wings! Pick them at the flower stage and they don't get a
chance to spread themselves over the rest of the garden.

 Why have a weed patch?: Well, it's always nice to see a
bit of 'wild' in an otherwise neat and tidy garden. But there
are other more practical reasons...

Flowering weeds will encourage bees to your garden and they in
turn will pollinate your other plants. Weeds are simply wild
flowers and they hold a huge range of medicinal and nutritional
properties just waiting to be taken advantage of...

Collect some of these regular garden weeds, in any combination
for a super bath tonic to relax with...

-lawn daisies ( flowers ) -dandelions ( flowers and leaves )
-nettles ( young leaves ) -blackberry / bramble ( leaves )

Crush the flowers and leaves together and place in a 20cm.
square of muslin. Bring up the edges to form a bag and tie
securely. Add a loop of string to hang over the hot tap /
fawcett and let the hot water run through the herb bag. Lie back
and enjoy!

And if you still have a few young nettles lurking, they are full
of vitamins and minerals and can be eaten in salads, steamed as
a green vegetable or drunk as a tisane. The whole plant can be
used to produce a greenish dye for wool.

Young brambles are high in vitamin C content and have natural
diuretic properties. Make a fragrant tisane for a great
alternative to regular tea. Bramble tea is also helpful in
fighting off colds and flu.

Dandelions: are very versatile and most of the plant can
be used in one form or another!

Young leaves are good in salads and the sap from the stalk is
reputed to cure warts and verucas. I have tried this on one of
my guinea pigs (children!) and it definately worked. Simply dab
on the sticky sap a couple of times a day when the veruca or
wart is just beginning to show.

Flowers: A traditional French country recipe is made every year
on the first day you see miles of dandelions in the open fields!
The idea is you collect 365 flowers only. Then you use the
dandelion flowers in place of fruit in your favourite jam
recipe. Add lemon and orange juice. If you want to make more,
make in batches of 365 flowers - don't try and double the
recipe. There doesn't seem to be a logical reason for this but I
have tried it doubling up and it doesn't work??!! The resulting
jam though is very good for you and absolutely delicious!

 ...So before you drag all those weeds out of the garden, STOP -
Can you think of a good use for them?

About the author:
Indulge in the healthiest hobby in the world - produce your own
food and feed your family well! Join Linda at
http://www.flower-and-garden-tips.com for the best gardening
tips, up-to-date garden bargains and her free monthly ezine. See
you there!