by Judith Stafford | Mar 29, 2021 | Into the Woods, Recipes
Spring Tonics I love this time of year. Leaves are in bud on the trees and the woodland and meadow plants are just starting to come up. Before long the floor will be overgrown with ivy, brambles and ferns but, for just a few weeks, spring flowers are in bloom and the countryside looks fresh and renewed. Many of the plants that are around this time of year can be used as a spring tonic. Nature has provided just what we need after winter. Before we imported food from around the world plants like stinging nettles, wild garlic, cleavers and dandelions have been enjoyed as cleansing herbs helping eliminate toxins from out body. Much cheaper and pleasant to eat or drink than some of the health shop detox products, these plants all contain lots of nutrients. They are rich in iron and other vitamins and minerals which we can use to give our immune system a boost. The plants mentioned below can be used fresh, which is best when possible, or can be frozen or dried. The exception is cleavers which should be used fresh. Nettles Nettles have more protein than any other native plant as well as many of the minerals our body needs to stay healthy. They can be added to soups and stews, made into tea or beer. You probably don’t want to eat them raw though as the sting is only neutralised after cooking! There is a knack to picking them without getting stung, but I find rubber gloves help. Nettle soup This soup is delicious and fresh tasting and full of vitamins. Pick a...
by Judith Stafford | Nov 6, 2020 | Into the Woods
Autumn in the Woods I love autumn. I love the smell, the colours of the leaves, the way the light falls. There is a lovely smell in the air which reminds me of bonfires and wet leaves. What I really love is watching squirrels rushing around gathering nuts, they really make me smile. I’m not so keen on the cold wind and the long dark nights but I am learning to live with them. After all, apart from moving to another country where it is summer, what can I do about it? Usually September has reasonable weather which makes it easier to enjoy stomping among the fallen leaves. Although they don’t usually come down in great quantities until the end of October. This month often has sunny days too. But by November and Bonfire night, when the clocks have gone back it really does feel like winter is on its way. The autumn woods offer a bounty of berries and fruit for us to harvest. Blackberries, crab apples, elderberries, rose hips, hawthorns, sloes and so many mushrooms. Much as I would love to, I don’t collect mushrooms, it is hard to tell which are poisonous and which are edible, so I leave that to the experts. But I do collect sloes, for sloe gin; rosehips for rosehip syrup and elderberries to make an elderberry tonic. You can make a ketchup out of hawthorns, but I haven’t done so – yet! Autumn is also a great time to collect mushrooms. But only if you know what you are doing. Poisonous fungi grow in with edible ones and look very similar...
by Judith Stafford | Jul 20, 2020 | Into the Woods
July in the woods It is well into summer now and we are returning to some semblance of normality and the foraging course I booked for July is running. Hurray! This time we were on the seashore rather than in a wood. It was a beautiful sunny day; the beach was packed but we were foraging on the marshes and in the grassy dunes where there we very few people. Which wasn’t surprising as the ground was boggy and uneven with channels of water everywhere blocking your path. The plants I saw were very different to those on other walks. They have to survive in a salty environment so tend to be fleshy and tough. One of the first plants we saw was sea spinach, which as its name suggests, can be eaten like spinach. Martin, our foraging guide, had recently made a quiche with it. A plant I am familiar with from my garden and one that keeps appearing in pots when I plant seeds, is fat hen. Also known as lamb’s quarters or White goosefoot (the leaves are shaped like the feet of geese), it is an annoying weed for gardeners but very good for forages as every bit of it is edible. The seeds are rich in starch and can be sprinkled on salads or sprouted and the leaves used instead of spinach or used in salads. Many of the plants we grow.as vegetables are related to wild versions. Wild carrot and parsnip and the sea radish which was in full radish bloom. You can see why it is called a radish in the picture. These...
by Judith Stafford | Jun 30, 2020 | Into the Woods
June in the Woods June is a green and luscious time in the woods. Plants are really starting to grow. This June has had very mixed weather. As lock down is slowly eased there have been some beautiful sunny days but also lots of rain – which is great for plants. My garden is now full of weeds and the slugs and snails are out in force! In the woods the elder tree is in flower. These beautiful frothy flowers can be eaten dipped in a light batter and fried or made into elderflower cordial, champagne or gin. This year I made gin and it was ready to drink in a week and tastes lovely and floral. Other medicinal plants in flower now are plantain, linden or lime tree flowers and common mallow. Plantain in flower[/caption] Plantain grows everywhere and can be eaten in salads. It is considered a healing herb and used on cuts and bruises as well as working as a laxative if you eat too much! Lime flowers are used as a sedative and often included in night time herbal drinks and have a very pleasant flavour. Marsh mallow is the mallow used mostly in herbal medicine; it bears no resemblance to the marshmallows found in your hot chocolate but at one time the sap was used in the production of these sweets. Common mallows have similar properties and are said to help reduce inflammation, cure toothache and treat wounds. The plant colours are mostly green with some pink including foxgloves, mallow and herb Robert. I love foxgloves and remember as a child imagining they were...
by Judith Stafford | May 18, 2020 | Into the Woods
May in the Woods May is my favourite month of the year, but this year as it has been so warm early in April some of the May flowers are already over. The weather has been amazing this spring but as we have been in lockdown here in the UK the opportunity to visit outside my local area has been restricted. The upside is that I am very familiar with my local area of Clevedon and have loved watching the seasons change. Bluebells are almost over and have put on a good show. I have been pulling them out of the garden again as they appear in the most surprising places. If you are lucky enough to have our native bluebell you can tell it from the more common and invasive Spanish variety as it is more delicate, and its bells are all on the same side making it hang over. The Spanish is more upright and its flowers larger. Most of the bluebells around here are the native ones but, in some areas, the invasive Spanish variety are trying to take over. The Hawthorn is in flower, it is also called May blossom as it always flowers in this month. You can eat the young leaves and flowers – it is known as ‘bread and cheese’. Later on, in the autumn, the berries will be food for the birds and can be made into a ketchup if you want to use them too. The elder blossom starting to open but this is more of a late May to June flower. If you go into any woodland you...
by Judith Stafford | Apr 20, 2020 | Into the Woods
Into the Woods April The weather this April has been amazing. Unfortunately, we are all still on lockdown in the UK so are limited in travelling so have to go into our gardens or walk locally to appreciate the warmth and the sun! Fortunately, you don’t have to go very far to see nature really waking up after the winter, and to realise spring is here. If you have a garden you will have noticed insects are around, bees, beetles and flies of all types and sizes. The birds are singing and gathering materials for their nests. Plants such as daffodils, that flower in early spring are mostly over but the tulips will be glorious for the rest of the month. In the woods spring flowers are in full bloom. Forget-me-nots, celandine, herb Robert, wood anemone and garlic mustard are out. I spotted this delicate sweet purple violet along a shady bank while out walking. If you have a local park the wild garlic will be flowering now. You will smell it before you see it and then it will carpet the woodland floor. Bluebell leaves are coming up now too, ready to start blooming at the end of the month to be in their full glory in May. Fruit trees such as cherry and apple are also coming into blossom. One of my favourite spots to walk is through this apple arch. It is especially lovely when the blossom is out and as you walk under you are snowed on by gently falling blossom petals. Beautiful! The hawthorn blossom is coming out as well and I noticed...
Recent Comments