Hedgerow Ramblings // Elderflower

Although it doesn't really feel like it with all the rain and chill, one sure sign that summer is here is the appearance of the Elderflower in the hedgerows. Every June it pops out, amongst the foliage, offering its sweet nectar to anyone wishing to take a whimsical foray into wine or cordial making. 

I've posted before about this exciting flower, its properties and some lovely recipes for utilising it. Have a gander here to find out more. If you're having a go at foraging elderflower for drinks-making this year, I wish you well and lots of enjoyment - but please take care when picking and using wild food: make sure you know what you're picking and please don't take more than you need. 

Blessings.

Hedgerow Ramblings // Wild Garlic

Wild garlic, or Ramsons, can be seen around woodland areas, growing in abundance amongst the bluebells, at this time of year. If you brush past it, you get a distinct aroma of garlic. The leaves and flowers are edible - but take care if the plants haven't yet flowered, as you may confuse the wide, flat leaves for those of the poisonous Lily of the Valley. The flowers are distinct, however, with tiny white petals in a loose pompom and if you pick a leaf and crush it slightly, you will know by the smell that it is garlic. 

Wild garlic is of the allium family - closely related to chives - and can be used in similar ways. The flowers add flavour to salads or sprinkled over pasta dishes. You could whizz the leaves up with some oil into a pesto and coat meat, fish or use as a stir-in sauce. Blanched and chopped, the leaves would also make a lovely accompaniment to meat or fish, or in a risotto. Make sure you wash them thoroughly before use and be respectful when foraging. Only take what you need - leave plenty for others - or better still, grow some of your own in your garden.

Hedgerow Ramblings // Hawthorn

May is in bloom!

As it always flowers in May, hawthorn is often simply referred to as 'May' or 'May tree'. Due to this association with the onset of summer - and the fact that it so often blooms for Beltane - the tree has historically symbolised marriage, fertility and the union of man and woman. May poles, which were traditionally danced around as a fertility ritual, were originally made from hawthorn wood. 

Also linked to its flowering at Beltane - the sabbat opposite Samhain on the Wheel of the Year and the mirroring of a time when the veil between this world and the 'Otherworld' is considered to be at its thinnest - Beltane has a rich lore associated with the faery realm. Legends say that if you sit under a hawthorn on May 1st, you will be led into the world of fae for good. 

Wands made of hawthorn wood are said to contain great power - it works particularly well for spells concerning protection, healing and fertility or blessings for love and marriage. However, be careful never to cut a branch of hawthorn - it is a sacred tree and should be treated respectfully. Even if you do not believe in its spiritual properties, hawthorn hedgerow is native to the UK but declining - as a result, it is protected. 

As always, take care when foraging or using wild plants for medicinal purposes. Hawthorn has several qualities which make it suitable for treating medical conditions. Its berries (haws) contain many vitamins and are widely used to treat heart conditions. Its flowers can also be used externally to treat acne but when taken internally it acts as a sedative. It is strongly advised not to self-medicate with hawthorn due to its significant effects on the heart. It should not be used during pregnancy.

Garden Magick // Hellebore

Nowadays hellebores grace the gardens of many people, providing a welcome sight in the depths of winter as they flower in spite of the cold. For this quality they are often called the 'Christmas Rose'.

However, hellebore wasn't always thought of so fondly. If you look back through history, hellebore has been used as both a medicine and a poison. It was traditionally used as a cure for paralysis and gout, yet it caused more problems than it solved - its list of side-effects stretch from tinnitus and vertigo to heart attack, stupors and death. Not one to go brewing in your tea!

Due to its sinister capabilities, folklore has cloaked this plant in darkness and mystery - it is often associated with witchcraft. It is also famed for being the agent of the death of Alexander the Great. A fascinating little plant - and one which will always seem more positive than otherwise to me. I just love it's star-shaped blooms. 

Hedgerow Ramblings // Crows

I have always had a soft spot for crows.

For the past few years I have felt like they turn up whenever something significant is going on in my life - particularly big changes. 

Furthermore, I often see a crow in my 'mind's eye' - it is a symbol which I believe guides me. 

Whenever crows appear, I am reminded to focus upon the spiritual as well as the practical goings-on around me - something which I too often allow myself to be swept away with, forgetting to nourish my soul. It also reminds me that change is inevitable, natural - good even - and there is a bigger picture to look towards.

Many people fear crows and other dark birds - they have a reputation for being harbingers of death, omens of bad times. In legend and myth they are one of the prophetic symbols of war and the shape-shifting tricksters associated with the Morrigan - a goddess of war and strife.

However, the crows also have a great many positive facets in legend - most of which seem to have been buried beneath all this negativity. They have long symbolised resourcefulness, the law, a watchful eye, a link to the magick around us, change, justice, integrity and divination. 

Do any of you have any animals you feel a strong affinity with? 

Hedgerow Ramblings // Which season is it?!

Mild it has been here over the past month - so mild that the bulbs have been fooled into thinking Spring is here. 

Poor, delicate, brave little daffodils have begun to open, offering a welcome flash of bright colour and the promise of what is round the corner. Sadly, yesterday's frosts brought a reminder that Mother Nature will always have the last word and they drooped wearily as the temperature fell below freezing. 

We - along with the bulbs - are perching nervously on the cusp of the seasons: some days it definitely feels like Spring, but we are yet to leap clear of Winter.

Enjoy the bright crispness of this balance between the two. 

Hedgerow Ramblings // Thistles

Ted Hughes' words on the subject of thistles are far more eloquent than mine could ever hope to be. 

I was rather pleased with this picture, however.

Thistles

Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of men

Thistles spike the summer air

And crackle open under a blue-black pressure.

Every one a revengeful burst

Of resurrection, a grasped fistful

Of splintered weapons and Icelandic frost thrust up

From the underground stain of a decayed Viking.

They are like pale hair and the gutturals of dialects.

Every one manages a plume of blood.

Then they grow grey like men.

Mown down, it is a feud. Their sons appear

Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground. 

Ted Hughes

Hedgerow Ramblings // One Swallow Doesn't Make a Summer...

...but how about a sky-full?

Hedgerow Ramblings // Lords and Ladies

While on my hedgerow walks, I have often noticed these funny looking little cones protruding from the undergrowth an wondered what they were. I could guess they were part of the Arum family, but I didn't really know anything about them. As they are so odd in appearance, I just had to find out more...

Indeed they are part of the Arum (Araceae) family, related to the Arum lillies you have probably seen in fancy flower bouquets or the Peace Lillies you can find in the indoor plants section of the garden centre.

Arum maculatum is wild woodland plant, relatively common across Europe and variously known by an abundance of names: Lords and Ladies, Wild arum, Jack in the Pulpit, Devils and Angels, Cuckoo-Pint, Naked Boys, Adam and Eve, Cows and Bulls - to name a few!

Fascinatingly, as you can see in the diagram below from the Wild Arum's very own wikipedia page, the flowers are actually hidden within the spathe (the bit that looks like a giant folded petal) under the spadix (the poker shaped protrusion) - fig.3. 

Having read this, I can only assume the name 'Lords and Ladies' comes from the unusual coupled formation of male and female flowers - if any readers out there know differently, please feel free to correct me! I thought it was particularly apt that they have sprung up now, in the days leading up to Beltane, as such a clear symbol of the fertile combination of male and female. 

In the autumn, the female flowers forms into a cluster of bright red or orange berries (fig.4) which are highly poisonous - they irritate the skin and, if eaten, result in the swelling of the throat, difficulty breathing, burning pain and upset stomach. So this one is absolutely a 'look-with-interest-but-under-no-circumstances-touch' plant. You have been warned!

Hedgerow Ramblings // Bluebells herald the arrival of summer

With Beltane almost upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere, it is clear that Summer is around the corner.

 Here in England we have been blessed by some astonishingly warm, sunny weather of late and everywhere you look you can see how fertile and full of life the Earth is.

Cultivated Spanish Bluebells

Bluebells are perennial bulb plants which flower yearly around May-time. For me they will always be associated with woodland walks near my mother's house around this time of year - when the floor beneath the trees becomes carpeted with vibrant blues. 

Although the plant has some medicinal uses, the bulbs themselves are highly toxic. This toxicity led to their use as a source of glue for bookbinding - silverfish which would commonly attack the books would be discouraged by this toxicity. 

Spanish bluebells in the wild

In myth and legend, tales tell of the bells summoning faerie folk and any human hearing the summoning of the bells, or wandering into a ring of bluebells, being doomed to die. Some superstitions state that wearing a wreath made of bluebell flowers would  compel the wearer to speak only the truth; others say that if you successfully turn a flower inside out without tearing it, you would win the one you love.

Native Bluebells - image courtesy of Really Wild Flowers

Although prevalent in much of Britain and Ireland, bluebells are scarce in the rest of Europe and do not grow wild in the rest of the world. Globally, they are considered a threatened species, particularly as loss of habitat and people pulling up the wild bulbs for their gardens has resulted in a huge decline in the last 50 years. In Northern Ireland, native bluebells are now a protected species. 

To complicate matters further for the native bluebell, the Spanish bluebell has been widely planted here in Britain, resulting in the hybridisation of the species. Wild hybrid bluebells are becoming widespread, as can be seen in the second image, resulting in the further decline of the less-vigorous native species, which cannot compete. Spanish bluebells and hybrids have bells produced from all sides of the stem which stands upright; native bluebells, as seen in the final image, have bells on only one side of a drooping stem.

Hedgerow Ramblings // The light...

...is returning.

Look what it did.

Beauty is waking all around us because of its nurturing warmth.

Tonight it was aglow.

Captivating and warm.

Utterly perfect.