Category Archives: 365 Frankendael

365 Frankendael day 274

365 Frankendael,

image

Today a frosty Amsterdam yields far less edibles and medicinals but there are still plenty around, including evergreens and beautiful Lavender shrubs. They grow so well in most Amsterdam locations and the leaves and flowers are very useful, whether in flavouring cakes, confectionery our treating minor burns, some forms of eczema our helping people to sleep.

Here’s one on my neighbour’s geveltuin (pavement garden).

Here is another plant which become popular in the winter due to it’s pretty tiny flowers. I’m used to it on moorland but here it is gracing another geveltuin, close to my home. It is Heather (Calluna vulgaris). I’ve never eaten it but the flowers are apparently edible. If the leaves and stems are edible, I can’t imagine they can be very palatable. Here is a useful entry on Celtnet, about the plant and some ideas on how it may be used. The plants certainly stand up well to the snow and they produce valuable nectar for insects. Heather honey is delicious!
image

365 Frankendael day 271

365 Frankendael,

image

Today some Ivy berries (Hedera helix). I don’t think they are edible – I don’t fancy trying them even if they are but the plant in general is sometimes useful externally an agent to help rid the body of cellulite. The pom-pom flowers come late in the year and are a useful source of pollen for insects and now come the striking purple-black berries.

365 Frankendael day 269

365 Frankendael, Apprenticeship

image

What a beautiful winter’s day again today! I met with the apprentices again this morning and we took a fresh walk through a section of Park Frankendael before testing our marshmallow milk decoction back at home.

We found this stunning Witch hazel (NL: Tover hazelaar) in flower still, Ground ivy, plenty of woodland Geraniums still in good (if frozen) shape. We noticed that almost every Rosehip has been stripped from the bigger wild roses and that catkins are already fluttering in the wind from many trees. We harvested Willow withies from a huge pile laid down by the council gardeners, just enough to make a few drying racks. We found Yarrow, wilted Comfrey, lots of toxic Fools Parsley and still, not a single Sweet Cicely plant has emerged where we looked. Winter Jasmine is looking stunning against many homes and the flowers are edible it seems, if a little dull to taste. The evergreen herbs are looking striking, such as Yew (highly poisonous) and Juniper. The dried, frozen seed heads of perennial herbs such as Motherwort, stand proud and give away the locations where they should be found come late spring. Chickweed abounds still, as does Hairy Bittercress.

image

Later in the day I walked again with my little girl and we found this lovely Japonica, just coming into flower. Chaenomeles Japonica flowers are edible but they are such a welcome sight on winter days that I think it would be a pity to pick any. The full common name of this plant is Japanese Quince. Quinces are useful for jelly making and are certainly edible. This quince has tiny fruit but they are useful and should not be overlooked by the urban forager. Also this afternoon, a nice bank of geranium looking perky.

image

There are many herbs available at this time of year. Obviously only a small fraction of the bounty we should see come late spring and summer but nonetheless a useful set of herbs. It’s not a time to harvest in quantity, it’s a time to know what’s out there and to know how to utilize it in case you really have a need.

365 Frankendael day 268

365 Frankendael, ,

I harvested a nice handful of flowering Hairy Bittercress today, from a fairly high plant put on a neighbouring street. It smells great and as ever reminds me of growing cress on cotton well as a child. I look forward to adding it to the apprentices pumpkin soup tomorrow morning before the meeting.

image

image

Tomorrow well take a look at this plant – Yarrow. Very useful and quite tasty in moderation.

image

I took my daughter for a beautiful walk in the park this morning. The sun was perfect, the ground was hard and crunchy from the first proper frost of this winter. The Beech leaves still cling on to the trees and bushes but are brittle and crackle in the wind. Out us good to see that the plants which should be gone by now are now under proper pressure – finally Comfrey melts into the ground and we can see what should be around.

The Willows of Park Frankendael have been coppiced and the withies laid down to full gaps near the lake. I took home a bunch of them and made them into a drying rack for herbs, our vegetables. It reminded me of weaving my garden fence in Somerset years ago and it felt good.

image

365 Frankendael day 265

365 Frankendael

There are still lots of edible plants around in Amsterdam. Here are just a few…

Yarrow.

image

Hairy bittercress.

image

Medicinal, astringent, bruise evaporating Witch hazel is now in full bloom. I usually buy distilled witch hazel but may try tincturing some this winter. This is my favourite sign of early spring. Such fascinating flowers!

image

Pain controlling Willow. Heaps of the just cut withies are lying around at the moment. If they are still I’m the park on Monday I’d like to make herb drying trays from some, with my apprentice group.

image

image

I’m looking everywhere for Sweet Cicely at the moment. It’s usually the first carrot family member to flower in the New Year and I never usually have trouble funding it in Amsterdam. I found lots of toxic Hedge Parsley today – again! A few plants are in flower, a few were quite red stemmed, maybe baby Hemlock. None smelted safely of aniseed our had the characteristic leaf. Where are you Sweet Cicely?

image

The above photo shows Hedge parsley and an Elder with plenty of young leaves. Our cold weather is yet to come.

image

Inedible but a pretty symbol of early spring – my first Snowdrops of 2013, in Park Frankendael today.

image

And this crazy sort of Cabbage looking perennial plant, making a.breakthrough from the soil. They grow where the Fuki relatives (a type of Butterburr) grow in the park. I’ll keep a close eye on them. Last year fellow Urban Herbie, Youko and I missed our chance to properly identify them, because they flower so early. All members of that family contain some toxins but highly regarded Fuki is harvested really young in Japan, cooked in a specific way and I feel for myself at least, that a small amount of toxin intake is worth it for the taste – but only if it’s really Fuki! Time, a magnifying lens and several guided books, will tell.

Loads of other herbs are around in Amsterdam but I was too busy to photograph more of them today. Look out for Comfrey, Ground ivy and Chickweed in particular.