Foraging Guide
Always take a good field guide with you and please follow our sustainable foraging guide including only picking from plentiful sources and only foraging what you can identify with certainty.
Never consume a wild plant or fungus unless you are absolutely certain of its identification. It could be rare and protected, inedible or even deadly poisonous. Use reference books to identify them.
Only collect flowers, leaves, fruits and seeds where they are in abundance.
Forage carefully to ensure there is enough left for birds and species to consume now and to ensure plants and fungi can regenerate and reproduce.
January
Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Chickweed is an overlooked and underrated weed with cleansing and healing properties and is packed full of vitamins and minerals.
How to use it:
It's tender leaves can go in salads with lemon and olive oil dressing. Blend into homemade pesto, or use to liven up meat and tofu dishes. The tiny white, edible flowers make a pretty salad garnish.
What to look for:
It’s a tough, creeping annual common throughout the UK on waste ground and in gardens.
February
Nettles (Urtica dioica)
Nettle leaves are a surprisingly versatile ingredient and are reputed to be a great superfood that’s rich in iron and vitamins A and D and packed with minerals. New growth usually begins to appear in early February.
How to use it:
The favoured leaves to pick are the tips – they’re tender and give the best flavour. You can use gloves to avoid being stung. The leaves have a flavour somewhere between cabbage and spinach. You can use nettle in the same way as spinach or to make tea, beer or soup (try creamy nettle and potato).
What to look for:
It’s an unmistakable plant familiar to everyone. It grows pretty much everywhere. Just remember to avoid roadside and pesticide-ridden areas. It’s best picked from late February to early June.
March
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
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The name of this plant literally means lion’s tooth (dent de lion) probably referring to its jagged leaf edges. It’s long been associated with folklore and herbal medicine and is probably best known for its diuretic effect.
How to use it:
All parts of this slightly bitter plant are edible, both raw and cooked (though most people don't bother with the stems). Add young leaves to salads, sandwiches or pies. Flowers can be used in many dishes from risotto to omelettes, for decoration and to make beer and wine. Unopened buds can be marinated and used like capers. Roots can also be thrown into stir-fries or added to vegetable dishes, or try making dandelion coffee by drying then grinding the roots.
What to look for:
Really common, easy to identify and found almost everywhere. Young leaves from the centre of the rosette are best – the dark outer leaves may be too bitter. They first appear in February.
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April
Wild garlic (Allium ursinum)
Wild garlic, also known as ramsons, is a native bulb that often grows in dense clusters on the floor of damp woodland and along shaded hedgerows. It’s a rich source of folklore and is credited with the ability to ward off vampires and evil spirits.
How to use it
The leaves and flowers are edible and delicious and have an unmistakable smell. The flavour is mellower than that of cultivated garlic and can be used in many ways. Add leaves to soups, sauces or omelettes. Make a wild garlic pesto or use to infuse olive oil. They are also delicious in salads and sandwiches or chop and mix with butter to make a delicious version of garlic bread.
When and where to find it
Very common throughout woodland in England and Wales, but less so in Scotland. Leaves appear as early as February and are best picked before the flowers have died (usually early May).
May
Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)
Also known as wild chervil, this abundant plant is an excellent all-round herb. It's a member of the carrot family and is a biennial or short-lived perennial plant. It is also sometimes called mother-die possibly because it resembles hemlock which is poisonous and closely linked with witchcraft.
How to use it
It's in the same family as carrot and parsley, and so its leaves have a similar flavour. Use it as you would parsley.
When and where to find it
This perennial herb is often spotted along roadsides, woodland rides and hedgerows and on waste ground. Its leaves are divided and fern-like. Flowers are tiny and white and on umbrella-like clusters. It can reach a height of up to 1.5m. Late winter into spring.
June
Elderflower (Sambucus)
For many people, fragrant elderflowers are synonymous with summer and they’re at their best late May to June depending on where you are in the UK. The flowers and berries are the only edible part of the elder tree and require cooking to remove the small amounts of toxic chemicals.
​How to use it:
Pick the flowers, give them a shake to remove any insects and rinse briefly in cold water before using. They can be used fresh as flavouring for cordial, wine, tea, liqueur, syrup, jelly and desserts. You can also dip the flowers into a light batter and fry them to make elderflower fritters. Alternatively dry the flowers and use them as a substitute for fresh flowers in most recipes.
What to look for:
Look for elder trees in woodland, scrub, hedgerows and on wasteland. Their creamy-white flowers hang in flat-topped clusters. Pick when the buds are freshly open on a warm, dry, sunny day, well away from traffic fumes.
