Plants

Lime (Linden)

Common Lime (Tilia x europaea) is a sweet-scented blossoming tree that brings a generous crop of nectar for bees and lime-flavoured honey for beekeepers … Continue

Rosebay Willowherb (Fireweed)

Every herb garden should grow rosebay willowherb (or fireweed as it is known) for a splash of colour and a buzz of bees. Where … Continue

Primrose

This humble little plant that often pops up unexpectedly in a corner of the garden after a long winter is a gentle herbal soother … Continue

White Dead Nettle

While children once sucked the sweet nectar from White Dead Nettle flowers, today’s wild food enthusiasts may enjoy the plant in many other ways. … Continue

Brooklime

Introduction Brooklime is a delicate blue flower of ponds and streams and often grows with watercress. It was used for centuries as a salad … Continue

Fat hen

Chenopodium comes from the Greek chen, meaning goose, podus or foot. Fat hen was considered important enough in Anglo-Saxon times to have places named … Continue

Ground Elder

Medieval monks cultivated ground elder as a medicinal plant, but it later earned a reputation of a nuisance weed thanks to its rapid growth. … Continue

Oak

Oak is arguably Britain’s most beloved tree and can live up to 800 years. The fruit it bears – the acorn – has been … Continue

Guelder Rose (Crampbark)

Guelder rose berries have fed and healed people in many cultures. They have become part of European and Native American cuisines. They appear in … Continue

Selfheal

Selfheal is a forgotten healer that has made a recent comeback as a modern-day heal-all with promising potential for use in food and medicine. … Continue

Yarrow

Yarrow is the herb of a million flowers, thanks to its prolific foliage. This wild edible has been used in food and medicine since … Continue

Rowan (Mountain Ash)

Rowan or Mountain Ash is an ancient tree used since ancient times. The berries provide a variety of wild edible delights and offer a … Continue

Broad-leaved dock

Docks have grown in Britain since three ice ages ago, and remains of dock have been found in places where people once farmed, such … Continue

Daisy

Introduction Daisy, a humble little flower that is widespread in many parts of the world. A children’s favourite for making ‘daisy chains’ or ‘fairy … Continue

Meadowsweet

Sweetly scented meadowsweet was famous as a strewing herb and as a flavouring for mead. It later gained recognition as one of the plants that … Continue