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| Ground Elder in the foreground |
The bane of gardeners everywhere - I find this plant an enigma; a dichotomy, since we spend most of our time trying to get rid of it, only to trot down to the nearest supermarket to buy pots of parsley. Actually, I grow my own parsley and never trot to the supermarket at all if I can help it, but the concept is the same, as I try to eradicate it from other people's gardens.
Introduced, probably by the Romans, this ubiquitous little plant is a terror. Leave one tiny piece of root in the ground and it will be back - with a vengeance. That's why Ground Elder spots are always Ground Elder spots, and why gardeners all over the country are cursing the Romans. Yet one has to admire its tenacity, its fight for survival and the best way to do this is to use it and eat it as if you meant to grow it just where it is.
It is, of course, no relation to the Elder tree, but was probably named for its resemblance to the Elder leaves and was once thought to cure gout - it doesn't - but it is a wonderful substitute for parsley and you should use it in just the same way.
Think of all the time you will save by not popping to Tesco or digging up Ground Elder.
