You may discover clumps of wild garlic in a wood, growing alongside the bluebells, or find it has entered your allotment or garden uninvited. It can be invasive – but it can also prove a very useful ingredient in salads, stirfrys or even sandwiches. You will probably smell it before you see it if walking through the woods, as it’s got a particularly pungent garlic smell.

Its white, star-like flower is so beautiful you may be inclined to include it in a flower arrangement. Don’t do that unless you want the aroma of garlic pervading the house.

Instead, pick as needed (its leaves go limp very quickly) and use as a valued spring ingredient.

Wild garlic leaves look rather like spinach and contains similar vitamins and nutrients as spinach. All parts of wild garlic can be eaten – the flowers, the leaves and the bulb.

The bulb is small and has a very mild flavour, nevertheless it can be used as a flavouring agent.

The leaves have a chive-like, garlic taste, and make a great addition to a dish of mixed salad leaves. I tend to tear them into bits rather than chop them. Some chefs advise that you blanch the leaves then refresh in chilled water before using.

The flowers, which are out now, can be plucked from the stem and scattered over a salad to provide both taste and an attractive garnish.

Try using wild garlic leaves to flavour an omelette, or add it to bubble and squeak for a delicate garlic flavour.

The bulb is small, but if cut and rubbed round the inside of an empty salad bowl before filling with salad leaves it will add a delicate flavour to the salad.