Ground Ivy: This Pretty Weed that Grows on Lawns Is Edible

For months, from early spring to the edges of summer, ground ivy’s tubular blue flowers announce its (often resented) presence in sunny lawns or in the high shade of garden or woodland trees. Its leaves are tiny and toothed; when nights are still cold and crisp, they are more burgundy than green, and its earliest flowers are periwinkle-blue. In lawns that are mown regularly the plants form compact, woven mats. Left to grow, they become slender and tall, festooned with flowers that turn gradually paler as the weather warms.

Crush a stem, and sniff its leaves: minty, with an oregano undertow. Collect a handful to scatter across a salad, to muddle into a drink, or to brew into a strawberry and rhubarb cordial (find that recipe below).

Photography by Marie Viljoen.

Ground ivy’s strong flavor and refreshing scent make it an appealing, low maintenance, and cold-hardy culinary herb. Botanically, it is Glechoma hederaceae, a potent perennial member of the mint family. Although it is credited with many other common names in English, the two that are most familiar are creeping Charlie and gill-over-the-ground. The latter name’s etymology give us a clue to one of its uses: “gil” is derived from guiller—to ferment, in French; ground ivy was used in beer making (Peterson, 2011). It is native to Europe and and has long been used as a medicinal, culinary, and brewing herb.

While its spread can be aggressive where it is not native, its threat seems to be mainly to lawns. In the context of the persistent mania for a weed-free lawn monoculture (whose success often depends on herbicide use and a lot of synthetic fertilizer), I find this lawn weed hard to dislike.

I like to scatter its pretty flowers across salads where their piercing freshness is offset by juicy or salty elements.