Category: Foraging – Food for Free

We Love … Sloes

Prunus spinosa, commonly called blackthorn or sloe, is a member of the rose family, native to Europe, western Asia, and in parts of northwest Africa. The number of sloes you will find on a blackthorn bush in the autumn is linked to the weather during the spring and summer. Too […]

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We Love … Hairy Bittercress

Not the most enticing name, but this little plant may surprise you. Hairy Bittercress is one of those plants that gets tagged as a weed and discounted. However this lovely little plant can grow through the winter, making it perfect for November/December foragers. Its leaves and flowers are both edible. Pick […]

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We Love … Himalayan Honeysuckle

As the name would suggest, Himalayan honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa) is native to Asia but forms vigourous bushes in the UK. Himalayan honeysuckle plants develop a truly unique looking flower, which is attractive to all sorts of pollinators. The flowers, which appear from early summer, are white, bell/trumpet-shaped and hang from […]

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We love … Sea Buckthorn

Sea-buckthorn is a very spiny shrub, native to sand dunes along the east coast and planted more widely to help stabilise dune systems. It forms dense thickets with thorny twigs and in autumn it displays an abundance of bright orange berries. Sea Buckthorn is an essential pick for coastal foragers. […]

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We Love … Pineapple Weed

Pineappleweed is an introduced species that has become a widespread ‘weed’ of disturbed ground, such as pavements and roadsides and gardens. Pineapple weed is an amazing plant which thrives in poor soils, such as roads, driveways, and other dry or sandy soil locations. It is one of the few plants […]

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We Love – Lime

The young, heart-shaped leaves of lime (linden) are edible. They have a succulent almost sweet flavour which, believe it or not, is enhanced once the leaf is covered in honey dew from aphids! Lime, or Linden, trees , were once very common across Britain. Today, they are considered a remnant […]

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We Love … Mallow

Although it’s unlikely to be flowering yet, the leaves and stems of mallow are edible and perfect for picking now. The common mallow is part of the large family of Malvaceae plants that include cotton, okra and hibiscus. It is a large, spreading plant with beautiful deep pink flowers that […]

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We Love … Alexanders

As we move towards spring, Alexanders can be found in hedgerows, by the sea and along woodland edges. Like many plants that we now think of as weeds, Alexanders was once popular in kitchen gardens. It is often found growing in ancient monastic ruins where it was once cultivated as […]

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We Love … Sage

Sage is an evergreen and the leaves can be picked at any time of year. The young leaves are tastier in summer but sage is a good all year round salad herb.You can pick whole young shoots or individual leaves. Sage is native to the Mediterranean so can’t readily be […]

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We Love … Chestnuts

Most years in the UK it is not warm enough for long enough to enable sweet chestnuts to ripen so they are sweet enough to eat. If you are lucky enough to live in a warm, sunny spot (not Scotland probably!), then look out for the hedgehog-like cases which, when […]

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