MAGIC IN THE HEDGEROW

Plants for making cordials and teas

Enjoying the virtues of wild plants that are commonly available in Ireland is a real treat at this time of year.

I’m trying out an old recipe for Honeysuckle tea (woodbine) today. The whole plant contains salicylic acid, which is the essential element in aspirin, also naturally found in willow. In France the flowers and leaves are infused and recommended for children’s coughs, especially whooping cough. All it takes is ten minutes to infuse in boiling water so it’s worth a try…..

Here are a few other plants in the hedgerow whilst we are waiting……

Beech
The nuts of the beech tree (known as beech mast) are valued on the continent for cattle fodder. The dried leaves can be used as a tobacco substitute and you can also make beech nut coffee. Peeling the nuts is time consuming and the nuts will need to be ground up in an electric coffee grinder to get the best of the flavour.

Blackthorn-sloes
A common shrub found in the hedgerows and open woodlands. It is the wild plum from which the cultivated types come from. Mixed with crab apples makes a delicious attractive looking jelly. Sloes have been enjoyed since prehistoric times. There was a first century BC village in Glastonbury excavated recently where a barrow load of the stones were found. Use the tender leaves for making tea and the flowers can be infused in milk or water. It is said to be a great purgative, so that’s probably not all that they found…..

Bramble- Blackberries
Most of us have been intimately entangled in these plants at one time or another. It has binding qualities and over the years some rituals involving the plant were said to heal ailments. Children suffering from ruptures and hernias were passed (or dragged) through loops of brambles and in Cornwall, dragging or creeping under brambles was a charm against boils and rheumatism.

The leaves and fruit have many virtues, blackberry vinegar is used for feverish colds and a decoction of the dried leaves boiled in water is said to be good for bowel problems. The Victorians also added a cup of whiskey to the mix (as a preservative of course). To make a bramble syrup, strain the berries to get the juice and add equal quantities of sugar. Bottle and use for sore throats and catarrh. It can also be diluted to make a delicious blackberry drink.
Clover
Clover is a common sight in most places and it is a great nitrogen fixer for the soil, giving back more than it takes out. You might have sucked the nectar from the flowers when you were younger. These flowers can be used in spring salads or made into a tea, known as a “Spring bracer” –just add sugar. The flowers were often combined with mint and sage for extra taste. Mix the flowers with apples to make a delicious jelly.
Dandelion.
This fabulous plant keeps our guinea pigs going. And the bees love it. The young leaves are delicious as a salad and they can be cooked like spinach. The flowers can be made into wine and the roasted roots made into coffee. Medicinally the dandelion has been considered useful for liver complaints.
Flag Iris
This common yellow flowered plant is in most wet places around Inishowen. It is claimed that the root, boiled up with a few drops of water gets rid of bruises, although this is very rarely used now. The flowers are used as a yellow dye and the root mixed with iron sulphate makes a good black colour. A French chemist used the mature roasted seeds to make a coffee substitute, declaring it had “a far superior taste”. They called it Sylvester’s coffee.
Goosegrass – sticky willy- cleavers
The seeds from the goosegrass get all over your clothing in summer. Small green balls with Velcro like hooks get into your shoes and hair too. These small seeds can be roasted and ground to make coffee. The juice of the invasive plant is used for skin disorders such as psoriasis and the tea is said to be a cure for insomnia and colds. The whole plant is enjoyed by most animals…especially geese- hence it’s name….

Heather
Heather has been used for bedding, thatching, brooms, baskets and fuel for generations. The flowering tips can be boiled in water and have antiseptic and diuretic qualities. It also helps to tone muscles and help rheumatic sufferers when added to a bath. For tea, add young tips with bramble and bilberry leaves, speedwell, thyme and wild strawberries for a delicious summer tonic.


A few picking tips
· Pick the plants on dry, preferably sunny days. Not too early, not too late or it may be damp with dew and liable to spoil. Roots are best pulled up after rain and collected in autumn.
· Take care not to crush or squeeze the plants to avoid blemishing the leaves and use them as soon as possible unless you are drying them for future use.
· Don’t strip the plants of all their leaves, it may kill them or prevent their seeds or fruit from reaching maturity. Leave some flowers and seeds to mature future use.
· Only uproot plants that are in your own garden or not protected or you have permission to do so from the landowner.
Results of the honeysuckle brew….
I used the flowers fresh, as I don’t have the patience to wait until they dry as the recipe says. The smell is very familiar, a sort of vegetable stock smell. Sipping the unsweetened liquid isn’t at all pleasant so adding the honey has certainly improved things. I am sipping it very tentatively then there’s a shout from the kitchen. Anyone for a cuppa? One of my lads also pops in and offers me a choc ice…..Far more satisfying I must say…….


The berries from honeysuckle can cause sickness and diarrhoea, so caution is needed. Use all plants and products wisely and only use recipes that you are entirely sure are safe…. Some of the world’s most powerful drugs come from plants…