It has to be said I’ve not exactly been in the country much lately but each time I’ve returned I see a step change in the plants & trees around us, the hedgerows gradually transforming from grey & twiggy to bright green new leaves & buds and now in full leaf.
Lots of classic hedgerows around Coventry full of Beech, Blackthorn, Elder among others and verges filling with nettles & cow parsley (goes by many many names it seems!). Elder has now started to flower so we’ll be out & about to experiment with some products soon, how about the classic elderflower cordial (& elderflower liqueur which may not be for sale!) or also spotted a gooseberry & elderflower jam which sounds intriguing. Personally I fancy a touch of elderflower in a lemon drizzle but whether we get time to try this has yet to be seen!
Finally spotted some Wild Garlic
Keep your eyes open for more foraging goodies in a hedgerow near you soon, be sure to leave some flower heads for all the fun of elderberries come autumn (See this post from last September).
(and yes I did finally find some wild garlic down some lanes in Staffordshire, sadly I was out and about on my bike with only my back pockets for storage)