I've always wanted to do this very thing, but have not. I envisioned putting some sort of screen over the ground cover, maybe over grow boxes or similar, so it could grow and be eaten through the wire when it gets tall, yet not get trampled or scratched to death. Be interesting to hear if others have done this and how they made out.

the one dead center.. looks like a weed to me.. perhaps the burdock ... you mention we need to focus on a leaf ... and the plant.. not straight down pix.. and throw a scale in ... anything we might recognize .. ken

Ha ha! When I see big burdocks on the side of some roads here I think the same thing: "pretty nice looking weed - it'd look better than a hosta in a few spots I have". Good to know I'm on the right track :) Looks great! Its only a weed if you say it is.

Wow! I was out mowing the lawn today and noticed an abundance of burdock that I hadn't noticed when I moved into this house 2 1/2 years ago. I was sitting in the back yard remembering when my grandmother (who immigrated from Furci, Italy in the 1920s), used to cook up cardoons when I was a kid. I was going to call my Mom in Lockport tonight and ask her for the recipe, but I knew she'd be asleep by now. So, I started searching the web and found this site. Lucky me! I remember my sister and I going out along the canal banks to pick several paper grocery bags full of them. I knew it involved egg batter w/ breadcrumbs and then frying them, but the other details slipped my mind. Thanks to all for reminding me on how to make this delicious dish! I'm going to be picking a ton of them this week before they start flowering! Up here in the North Country, the seasons come about a month later than in WNY. I just put my garden in last weekend. :) On another note, we used to pick dandelion greens in the early spring to make salad (my Dad always told us not to pick them all, so he could use the flowers to make wine). Gotta get them before they flower, or they are tough and very bitter. They are also great when cooked like spinach with some melted butter added! I still do this when I remember to. My yard is full of them!