Wilding the garden?

[cab]

Just thinking aloud about our little back garden and the allotment, and it occurs to me that how I garden lends a lot from foraging - specifically I've introduced some new species that have (intentionally) gone wild. Self-seeding species are great to give early greens and add a bit of interest.

Among these are wild celery (a wonderfu, wonderful plant), which seeds happily in the garden, alexanders which has a self-seeding patch on the allotment, borage and lemon balm, obviously with some 'spreading' plants encouraged too (thyme, mint, marjoram, etc.). 

Are there any others that are worth adding? I'm trying some 'walking' onions, which are a little trickier but should work. What else is worth adding?

[foragingmouse]

One of my favourite fruits / berries in the autumn is the kousa dogwood the fruit is really nice also I promote planting of medlar trees as a fruit that's falling away from our countryside also strawberrie trees are pretty cool

[Brewforagegrow]

I harvested crow garlic seeds this year with the intention of sowing them at home in a corner of the garden (if you want some let me know and I'll post them over to you)

Still the best belly of pork I've ever made was slow roasted on a bed of the bulbs. Also stems used like chives and the scapes are delicious too.
I'm trying pickling them this year. Think I may have left it slightly late to collect a lot of them as they are more seed than scape but still rather yummy

[cab]

Hmmm... I don't dare at another allium. Actually completely forgot, front garden (little permaculture patch) has under-planting of wild garlic and three cornered leek

Crow garlic is a great plant to forage though - we get plenty of that on the fens around Cambridge. I use lots of it in Spring.

[herbwise]

I like to let the wild purslane that crops up in my gardens self seed and propagate itself. It's delicious sauteed as a green, I like to add it to quiches, hear its great in Spanakopita...some ppl I know add it raw to salads and also pickle it. Plus it's high in Omega 3's!! Since it is a sprawling succulent plant that tolerates dry conditions I view it as a valuable ground cover between plants helping water retention in the soil. Any bare spots let the garden fry and this plant has a low moisture requirement so it's not a big hog on the resources. Only downside is it seems to do better in crappier soil so in my gardens it doesn't do as well as the soil there is rich. Also I encourage Dill to grow as it pleases. Doesn't take up much space and likes to wedge itself between plants. Nettles I am selective about leaving depending on where they appear..... I think some of the best things about gardens is letting the wilding happen and see what wants to grow where in the Spring.