Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) is a UK native bulb, commonly seen in damp woodlands. New leaves emerge from the soil each year in late winter or early spring and grow to about 7½cm (3in) wide and up to 50cm (20in) tall by early summer. The long, oval-shaped leaves have pointed tips and smell strongly of garlic when crushed; they die back to ground level as summer progresses. Flowering stems bear rounded umbels of six-petalled white flowers from April to June. Clumps of elongated pale bulbs form underground.
Plant wild garlic bulbs 5cm deep in autumn in moist, shaded ground. They need minimal care once established. Wild garlic spreads readily. A patch of 20 bulbs covers 1 square metre within 3-4 years. Leaves are best harvested in March and April before flowering. Flavour weakens once flowers open. Growing from seed takes 18-24 months to produce usable leaves.