This is an aerial view showing the extent of the land. Google must have taken this 20 years ago as it looks treeless. However, there are very established trees all… Read More
Lady’s Smock – Cardamine pratensis
This is Lady’s Smock also known as Cuckoo Flower. It is a meadow and riverside field plant that flowers in the late spring. It is fabulous in salads as it… Read More
Fields and Forests Project – Ointment Recipes
The ointment made at Pollok Country Park in Glasgow was as follows: 1 spoon beeswax 2 spoons grated cocoa butter 5 spoons sweet almond oil Melt all together then mix… Read More
80,000 evidence of herbal medicine at Shanidar, Iraq?
Since hearing about the meadowsweet flowers discovered in Perth I have been researching to find out what other pollens and flowers have been found in ancient burial sites. Shanidar Cave,… Read More
Hawthorn Berry Gin ready for Christmas
Around October I wrote about making Hawthorn Berry Gin. Well, I’m pleased to say it is DELICIOUS. And I can keep a clear conscience by knowing it’s also good for… Read More
4000 year old “aspirin” flowers found in Bronze Age grave, Forteviot, Perthshire?
Meadowsweet flowers found in a Bronze Age grave were reported as proof of a “floral tribute”. Monica Wilde suggests the reason was not sentimental but practical – the person buried may have suffered from joint aches and pains – possibly arthritis. Meadowsweet and birch bark contain salicylates on which modern aspirin was modelled. Both plants are still used in British herbal medicine to this day.
Getting Older, Staying Healthy
Just back from the magical island of Bequia. As in the UK, many of my friends there over 60 and some into their 80s. I find it really interesting to… Read More
Elderberry: Making a Syrup
Elderberry syrup can be made purely for its great taste or for its vitamin content and medicinal properties in helping the whole family to fight off colds and flu. Pick… Read More
Swine Flu, Herbal Remedies & Elderberry Extract
I find it amazing that with all the worry about swine flu at the moment, and the amount of press coverage given to it, that so little mention has been… Read More
Hawthorn Berries: Gin, brandy or tincture?
October/November, after the first frost, is also the time to pick hawthorn berries. Hawthorn is relatively unused as a hedgerow berry being mainly used for hawthorn gin or hawthorn brandy. It… Read More
Rose hips: Winter ‘Vitamin C’ Syrup
Rose hips are extremely high in Vitamin C and also contain Vitamins A, D (made by sunshine and often missing in the winter months) and E, as well as antioxidants.… Read More
Nasturtiums: Salads, Pickled, Tempura and Home Medicine.
Nasturtiums are great plants. They are easy to grow. The seeds are large and germinate quickly, so great for getting children interested in the garden. All parts are edible. The… Read More
Visit to Garth and a mushroom feast
We last visited Garth about a week before the leaves started to turn into Autumn. On the way back we stopped by the edge of a wood, south of Aberfeldy,… Read More
Early thoughts for life in the woodlands
Don’t you love the early stages of any project? All the research, playing with ideas, planning, dreaming and scheming. Next week we will all get together to share our ideas.… Read More
To thatch or not to thatch!
Well, we could have a live roof. Or we could have a thatched roof… A live roof would blend into the woodland and hide the buildings among the tree. The… Read More
Beech Leaf Noyau and Beech Nut Nocino
Noyaux is French for ‘nut liqueur’ which makes me wonder if the beech nuts (beechmast) were ever used to make a liqueur, as well as the leaves? Here is a… Read More
Foragers Dió Pálinka aka Green Walnut Grappa
Green Walnut Grappa Adapted from a Dió Pálinka (Walnut Brandy) recipe that I tried in a Hungarian cellar at Somló – amongst many others!! Pálinka is traditionally a fruit brandy but… Read More
Ash Cider recipe (Frenette) using green leaves
Ash Cider (aka Frenette) using ash leaves without manna ash Frenette is a mildly alcoholic drink made from fermented ash leaves. Read more about it’s history and the type of… Read More
Frenette Recipe: Using ash leaves with manna ash
Frenette from ash leaves with manna ash Frenette is a mildly alcoholic drink made from fermented ash leaves. Read more about it’s history and the type of ash and leaves… Read More
Manna of Sicily
Manna of Sicily ~ Tapping the Ash ‘Manna of Sicily’, if you can buy it – extremely hard these days – was traditionally stocked in European pharmacies. It is white… Read More
Ash Cider ~ Frenette
Ash Cider ~ aka Manna Ash Leaf Frenette Frenette is a mildly alcoholic drink made from fermented ash leaves. It is an ancient drink, possibly made in Gaul around the… Read More
Books about Medicinal Mushrooms
Mushroom Bibliography. This lists some of the books available about medicinal uses of fungi. Listed according to most recent publication date. Hobbs, C. (2021) Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms: Boost Immunity,… Read More
The answer to the Rose Riddle
The five sepals that make up the calyx of the dog rose Rosa canina are the five brothers in the rose riddle. You’ll notice that the edges of the sepals… Read More