Category: Foraging – Food for Free

We Love … Comfrey

Comfrey is a remarkable plant which every garden should grow If you have a garden, grow comfrey! Comfrey has very deep roots, which means it can get at nutrients from deep in the soil. These nutrients are stored in the leaves and by letting them break down, you’ll have a […]

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We Love – Scurvy Grass

Well, maybe love is a bit of an exaggeration but this plant is plentiful at the moment and can add a kick to salads and pesto. This common coastal plant got its name from the fact that sailors used to salt it down to access the masses of Vitamin C […]

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We Love … Spinach

References to Popeye the Sailorman might be a little outdated in the 21st century but those who remember the mid 20th century will remember him – and the miraculous effect that spinach had on his strength! While those effects might be a little exaggerated, there is still lots to love […]

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We Love … Blackberries

Where to find blackberries? Everywhere! In woods, hedges and roadside verges, usually in a straggly clump with long branches snaking along the ground at trip height! The thorns can easily snag into clothing and the plants general wild habit makes the berries better foraged for rather than planted in the […]

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We Love … Hazel Nuts

You might think that this is a little early to be picking hazel nuts but; picked early in the season, when they’re still green, the shelled nuts make a tasty nibble to munch on while you’re out walking. If you collect enough, the shelled nuts can be roasted in the […]

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We Love … Wild Strawberries

Wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca) are another of those fabulous plants to forage for free but which are also well worth growing in your own garden. Tiny fruits but massive flavour! Also known as Alpine or woodland strawberry, these fruits are tiny but full of flavour ! When picking from the […]

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We Love … Elderflower

Elder (Sambucus nigra), is a bit of a brute of a tree. It can grow tall and straggly, it grows back from a stump however hard you try to cut it back when removing one from a hedgerow, it tends to accumulate dead patches and branches and the wood takes […]

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We Love … Goosegrass

Goosegrass, as I knew it growing up in Lancashire or “sticky willy” as it is known here in The Borders, is a complete nuisance at the moment; sprawling over newly planted willow saplings in the woodland next to the house, threatening to encroach onto the borders and raised beds, sticking […]

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We Love … Honeysuckle

Well, of course we love honeysuckle! It looks incredible, grows well in the Scottish Borders and, especially on sunny spring evenings, honeysuckle flowers smells amazing. AND.. the flowers can be used to infuse a sweet, honey (obviously!) flavour into many dishes. Honeysuckle is really easy to identify and to find; […]

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We Love – Sweet Cicely

Sweet Cicely is an incredibly delicious and nutritious plant growing free in the hedgerows! Sweet cicely is a relative of chervil and parsley and is native to Britain. It was popular in herb gardens in the Victorian era. The tradition was for it to be grown near the kitchen door […]

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