Foraging

I read something (in The Press I think) the other day, about foraging. Then a couple of days ago, on a walk around the waterfront, I met a lady who was collecting flat-leaved parsley to make pesto. 

It got me thinking about how much we must have lost that once would have provided rich foraging and also about how much knowledge we must have lost around the practice itself. 

Then I thought about the edibles I gather in the local area - things growing on common ground, roadsides etc. While it may not strictly be foraging as such (because mostly these are cultivated plants/trees), I decided to list as many as I could. They include:

walnuts

cherry plums

water cress

blackberries

apples

mushrooms

I also gather what seems to be a type of perennial spinach (it grows at the high water line) as well as fat hen, dandelions etc. for the chooks. And I collect pine cones for the fire and pine needles for pathways.

There is something very satisfying about coming home with such goodies!!