As part of this past weekend's Ashevillage Building Convergance  I went on the  Urban Plant Walk in  Asheville's very own Edible Garden.

One of the neatest things about  being in Asheville is that even though I've been here for many years, there are still so many things that I have yet to discover. All in all the garden tour was great and I'm going to attempt share as much as I remember here. Actually I'll probably end up covering the walk over several Journal Entries.

One of the first plants we looked at was Comfrey. I actually didn't picture this plant because I am already familiar with it, but it was interesting to learn that comfrey is commonly used in compost teas. I've heard of compost teas before but have never tried to make my own. We've primarily used comfrey in salves for treating  skin conditions/irritations.

Another plant we saw early in the walk was Violet (only the leaves).

Sorry about the less than optimal image quality. While looking at this plant we primarily learned about its Demulcent properties, which basically means that it creates a soothing film. This makes it good for treating coughs. I believe you can eat this straight but it would most likely be made into something else....as coughs are probably more common when this is not growing.

With regards to eating any kind of healing plant, they are best consumed when they are young. Or sometimes you might only clip off and consume the newest growth. Its best to use/harvest most medicinal plants prior to flowering.

Right next to this Violet patch was a Yellow Dock plant:

Its kind of in the middle of many other plants, but looking at the picture above its the plant with a long stem that is arcing to the left.

Yellow Dock, commonly harvested for its root, has many "knees" or "nodes." Those are essentially little bumps along the stem. And as the name suggests, the root of this plant is yellow. In terms of properties this plant is astringent and has a bitter flavor. It may also have a sort of tart flavor. Its also in the same family as the sheep sorrel. And for anyone that has had sorrel, it can also be kind of tart.

Then mention of this family then lead to a conversation about the importance of learning scientific names. Learning scientific names allows you to more quickly learn what plants belong to what families. For instance, I had no idea Valerian and Sunflower were in the same family. It'd be interesting to learn what they have in common.

Our guide recommended the Newcomb's Wildflower Guide for identifying plants and their properties.

So thats only a snippet of yesterday's walk. I have lots more to tell but don't want to miss out on today's sunshine. More to come soon!