Maybe we should pay more attention to the animals around us. Not that I want to try everything they eat, but some may be worth a go. Things that deer love that we may not give a second thought. Like hostas.
I just happened to notice someone talking about eating them, so I looked into it. I mean, I know there are animals that like eating them. Deer seem to find them especially tasty. I’ve heard many stories of deer munching their way through hosta plants. One friend had even told me the deer woke him one night with their rather noisy chewing. They were eating the hostas in the garden outside his bedroom window. And apparently, they had never been told to chew with their mouth shut. But their rather loud munching roused him from his sleep.
Wild green things are all over the place at this time of year. I’m not sure I want to eat all of them, but some are quite tasty. Like, I really enjoy fiddleheads. I never would normally think of eating a baby fern, but they sure are tasty. Although not all baby ferns are edible. So you have to be careful.
You kind of have to go from experience in many ways. Eat some little baby ferns, but just particular one. Or you can eat some flowers, but not all of them. It gets sort of confusing. But when I saw people actually eating hosta shoots, it got me thinking what else I might be able to find popping up in the garden.
Like I’ve heard of people eating zucchini flowers. I’ve never tried them, but I hear they are quite tasty. And one of the best things about eating zucchini flowers would be fewer zucchinis. How many vegetables can one plant grow? Zucchini plants take that as a challenge. So eating the flowers seems like a pretty good idea.
But hostas seem more decorative than a food source. Unless you’re a deer. But the deer may be onto something. You can eat hosta plants at any time, but the first green shoots are said to be very much like asparagus. I like asparagus. So maybe I should be giving the garden a little trim.
Maybe it could become a new seasonal thing. Like fiddleheads. If the deer leave me a few.
