The National Gardening Association’s Weed Library has an entry describing curly dock (Rumex crispus) as “a hardy perennial weed found in most American gardens that is anchored by a branched taproot. New green leaves that emerge in spring often are tinged with red. The young leaves are edible but become bitter when warm weather arrives. A tall seed stalk appears in summer. If left alone, a healthy dock plant can shed 40,000 seeds, which remain viable for years. …” (Yikes!) It fails to address the question of how edible the roots might be.

Edibles in the Park (a Fit Magazine article by naturalist Steve “Wildman” Brill), though favoring the young leaves and flower stalks, hints that the roots might be best discarded: “The highly nutritious, lemony flavored young leaves are excellent raw or cooked in early spring, as are the leaves on the flower stalk and the peeled flower stalk in mid-spring. People boil the long yellow taproot and drink the bitter tea to detoxify and to help liver or skin ailments.”

I saw a lovely little hosta this weekend at the garden shop, and near the other end of the size spectrum, that went by the name “blue mouse ear”. Very neat and dainty, and smooth in texture, rather than ridged.

I found this that might interest you.
http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/02551.html

M Sinclair Stevens: I’ve always thought honesty was the best policy. I want to get across the idea that one’s garden doesn’t have to be perfect to give you pleasure. Did you see this post of Angela’s?

Zoey: It was satisfying. I just hope I got them all, because the shrub goes in today.

Judy: After you tried to get me to think of them as vegetables, I went out and weighed the roots. My “yield” was one and a half pounds.