A Spring in our step! - Wild Harvest Walk, April 2022

Perhaps April is the cruelest month according to some, but we enjoyed the most glorious and generous day on this month’s Wild Harvest Walk. The sun shone, the birds sang, and despite it being very early in the season, there were plenty of interesting plants to be foraged and savoured.

I always feel April brings the birth of spring, and if we are paying attention, we can feel the shift between one season and another. The clocks have changed, the sunlight is gaining strength, everywhere you look there is fresh growth, and we might even be able to feel this transition in ourselves, as well.

My group today was most certainly responding to these seasonal cues. With a spring in our step we explored the river’s edge along the Leader Water, and found a myriad of spring greens; young ground elder, the first nettle leaves, wood sorrel, dead nettle, sticky willy/cleavers, and - of course - wild garlic. This last spring-green is a favourite for many - flavoursome, plentiful, easy to recognise, and really versatile in the kitchen. However, there is ONE plant that it can be mistaken for - the cuckoo-pint, or ‘Lords and Ladies’. Luckily there was one on hand to demonstrate the likeness, which is only such at this time of year. As soon as the cuckoo pint produces it’s flower, the difference is obvious. This was also a good moment to hone our plant identification skills, in observing the different leaf shape and texture - the cuckoo pint has a pronounced indent at the base of each leaf, and is also glossy, whereas wild garlic is more matt.

‘Toothwort’ - a parasite that appears in spring. People used to believe that it came up where dead bodies were buried, as it looks a little like teeth!

Back at the Nature Unlimited basecamp, we enjoyed a warming fire while we sampled some cleavers infusion and some punchy wild-garlic pesto - which might be my favourite use for wild garlic. The cleavers infusion is easy to make, delicately delicious, and a cleansing spring tonic. By simply steeping the raw plant in cold water overnight, you obtain a clean green tasting drink which is lightly caffeinated and effective as a lymphatic cleanser. Many spring plants are renowned for their cleansing and restoration properties which is surely welcome after a winter of comfort eating.

The group this week were like a spring tonic in themselves - buoyant and energetic, and full of curiosity. This is only the second Wild Harvest Walk of 2022 but the great energy of these gatherings is making me look forward to future walks already. I know some attendees have similar enthusiasm, and have signed up to sessions throughout the year. Although we will be revisiting the same ground each month, each session will be different as the plants, soil, bug-life environment and river all change to reflect the shifting season. Bringing awareness to this huge cycle that effects us all, is one of my main motivations for running these walks. Even though our seasons bring us the food, weather, scents, light and traditions that make life interesting, we rarely have time to fully acknowledge the season that we are in and I feel we often miss this powerfully grounding influence in our lives.

We had cleavers (sticky-williy or goosegrass) infusion, wild garlic pesto, and some bonus rowan jelly from last year’s stocks

I hope that more will join our intrepid group, and will look forward to the many wild harvests throughout 2022!

What we harvested

ground elder
dandelion
cleavers/sticky-willy
nettle
wood sorrel
wild garlic

Other things we encountered

butterbur flowers
toothwort (a strange parasite)
cuckoo-pint (Lords and Ladies)

Books and references

WRIGHT, J. 2019. The Forager’s Calendar. Profile.
MABEY, R. 1973. Food For Free. Readers Union
SEAL, J. 2008. Hedgerow Medicine: harvest and make your own herbal remedies. Merlin Unwin.
WATERMAN, A. 2021. Woodland Wild Flowers. Merlin Unwin.
KENICER, G. 2021. Scottish Plant Lore: an illustrated flora. Birlinn.
MILLIKEN, W. et al. 2013. Flora Celtica: plants and people in Scotland. Birlinn.