- Clover
- Self Heal
- Plantains
- Wood Sorrel
Clover
Clover comes in two common varieties, Red (Clemson) and White. We get ours from Marietta Seed and Feed for a very reasonable price. The main Benefits of clover are:
- Short height
- Outcompetes most grass
- Naturally fixes nitrogen into the soil, fertilizing the area
- Pollinators love it

Lyreleaf Sage
Also known as “Cancer Weed”, this herb is in the mint family, edible, and native! Benefits of having it in your yard:

Self-Heal

- Used Medicinally Historically
- Native
Plantains
This will include both Broadleaf and Longleaf/ribwort Plantain. One of my favorites, it is edible and used to sooth the throat or rub on bug bites to immediately relieve the itching. Benefits of having it in your yard include:

Wild Lettuce
Wild Lettuce is a very useful and edible plant. I like to use leaves in my ramen and make tea to immediately relieve cold symptoms. This will grow very large, but you can harvest it whenever it gets too big and harvest it’s natural Lactucarium.

- Edible
- Used Medicinally Historically
- Pollinators love it
- Short except when flowering
- Prolific
- Easy to manage
Wood Sorrel
Sorrell is a great three leaved plant that almost looks like a clover but has beautiful yellow or purple flowers. Sorrell has a sour or citrus taste and creates very tasty seed pods.

- Used Medicinally Historically
- Short height
- Easy to manage
- Native
*Some people may react negatively to sorrell due to the oxalic acid when chewing so be careful!
Mugwort
Dandelion
I could not make a useful plant list without including one of my favorite plants, the Common Dandelion. while most people thing its just a weed, when controlled it does not drown out biodiversity and can help break up compacted soil. Also it has long been used as a superfood and survival food that is packed with vitamins and minerals. Reasons to add it to your yard:

- Edible
- Used Medicinally Historically
- Pollinators love it
- Short height
- Native
There you have it! Now go out and find some of these plants on a nature walk and spread the seeds into your own yard. Try to include them all! You won’t regret it!
Happy Gardening!