Category Archives: 365 Frankendael

365 Frankendael day 89

365 Frankendael

I was asked about a nice and safe herb to use for baby teething pain, so today I went hunting for a bag full of Meadowsweet from which to make a more of a pain relieving tincture. Here is some of that beautiful Lady of the Meadow, this morning in the park:

The plant is packed with Salicylate salts, what Asprin was isolated from many years ago. Compounded in this natural way, it reduces inflammation, relieves pain, reduces stomach acid (unlike Aspirin) and can remedy rheumatic pain, uric acid crystal build up, stomach ulcers and more. It is renowned as a good remedy for diarrhoea in young children. Bees also love it and I had to avoid disturbing plenty of honey bees, as I harvested the plant today. The plant is most used as a tea, and I’m using that today to ease inflammation and general pains from a classic “start of teachers school holiday”cold. It works a treat. Filipendula ulmaria is quite a wonder plant.

Here is a wonderful herb that is now going over. As it sets seed Feverfew always tends to break down its leaves and look like its been selectively sprayed by some nasty chemical. But it hasn’t, its just dying back after a busy season making flowers and now seed.


Above is a type of Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba), I mentioned it recently and how I chose not to eat it, even though the flowers taste sweet. It contains some unpleasant chemicals and if you enjoy it, try not to make a habit of eating much of it.

Lastly is a type of Balsam. I’ve not tried it but apparently its edible and also an invasive plant in some parts of Europe. I recently heard of Balsam bashing walks around National trust properties in the UK, maybe they do more harm than good as when a swathe of this plant is quickly removed other opportunistic plants, equally disliked such a Japanese knotweed, may move in.

365 Frankendael day 88

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Urban Herb Walks

Three lovely people joined me to learn about Ribwort (Plantago lanceolata, NL: weegbree) this afternoon. We made Ribwort succuss honey, Ribwort ointment from Ribwort infused oil and learned of the many ways in which Ribwort, and it’s sister Greater Plantain (Plantago major), have made themselves indispensable to communities around the globe.

We harvested a small paper bag full of Ribwort leaves from the meadow section of Park Frankendael and whilst doing that noticed some other very lovely plants…


Here is a tiny section of the meadow with St. Joan’s / St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum, NL: Sint Janskruid), Red and White clover, Ribwort and more.


Above is Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum, NL: Grote kardebol) in flower. That beautiful ring of tiny blooms will move as the flower head progresses into an equally stunning seed head.


Chicory (Chicorium intybus, NL: Wilde cichorei) in flower, I think this is the most beautiful blue in the plant kingdom. It always calms and cheers me when I am fortunate enough to see it.

Here is a a very furry looking and feeling clover, Hare’s-foot clover (Trifolium arvense, NL: Hazenpootje). A very pretty spreading plant which really livens up this already beautiful meadow. Its silky flower heads bob about in the breeze and I must say that apart from the hairs, it looks almost good enough to eat. I can only find confusing information about the eatability of this plant online and no reference to it in my wild food books. I did fine one definitive “don’t eat it” reference on a useful website, which is good enough for me to say – probably poisonous, not one to eat.

365 Frankendael day 87

365 Frankendael, Foraging

I’ve been preparing for tomorrows Ribwort workshop but found time for a few photos of other herbs in the park..


This one shows the signature red spot in the centre of a Queen Anne’s Lace flower. Apparently, if you eat enough of those spots alone you may experience a hallucinogenic effect. Not sure about that but I think they are really pretty flowers and they signify the Wild Carrot growing beneath. As I mentioned on the herb walk yesterday, I’m not a big fan of hunting for wild roots, due to the harm it causes, and less still of the carrot family, due to the numerous toxic family members, but it’s good to know that Wild Carrots are around.


The photo above is of Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) in full bloom.


And here is a field of Red Clover looking very fertile in the park.


Lastly today, is a Garlic Mustard plant with ripe and dry seeds – well until it rained again today. I took two seed pods home and will save them for sewing in my street or nearby next spring. I love that plant!

365 Frankendael day 86 – Thank you!

365 Frankendael, Urban Herb Walks, , ,

Here are some of today’s urban herb walkers, taking time for a freshly brewed herbal cuppa as we ended our walk, in Frankendael’s hidden herb garden.

All times of year offer special delights when herb walking but I think most would agree that mid July is a particularly interesting time. There are still plenty of flowers around, plenty of rich foliage and also plenty of seeds forming on plants. This is not the time for smart spring freshness, it’s the time for herbs that are so big they spill over paths and mix right in amongst each other. This is a time of hedonistic herbal plenty.

We looked at too many herbs to mention here (most are on the walk handout) but a few, which I want to give links to, are as follows:

Birthwort (very poisonous) (Aristolochia clematis). See day 83 for a few details.

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), my thrice daily tincture tipple, for combatting stress and far more.

Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica) which we found smelling interesting amongst a patch of another edible wound herb called Enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea lutiana)

Meadowsweet (Filpendula ulmaria), Please see day 14 for details.

Thank you again, to everyone who joined me for today’s walk. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and I hope that your herbal adventures are filled with fun, health and good flavours!

For forthcoming herb walks and gatherings, please see my Events page.

365 Frankendael day 85

365 Frankendael, Foraging


Another monsoon day today, so here’s an edible that loves to have its feet very wet – Cat’s Tail (Typha sp.)
A plant with a multitude of uses. Here’s a useful Wild man Steve Brill link about the plant.


The plant to the left in this next photo is likely to be Common Hogweed (Hereacleaum sphondylium). Common Hogweed is edible and much loved by many foragers so there are many traditional and modern recipes for those who like it but it is easily confused with poisonous plants (especially Giant Hogweed) so if you are interested in it be sure to identify it using several reliable sources before picking and again before cooking.

365 Frankendael day 84

365 Frankendael, Foraging, ,

Waiting at the bus stop today, I was delighted to see that there is a survivor from the council mowed Fat Hen (Lambs quarters) population in the nearby scrubland! Here it is, looking defiant and determined to spread seed, in a pavement crack close by. Not one for picking though as its likely been walked over many times and is so close to the road.  Its seeds won’t know the difference however and this little urban warrior may help to populate the scrubland next year. I do hope so, Fat hen is one of the tastiest wild* vegetables that I know.

*Fat hen was once a popular cultivated vegetable which fell out of favour for some reason. Perhaps it was knowledge of its high Oxalic acid content or simply that blander palates fancied growing and eating something more spinach-like. Whatever the reason, Fat hen (Chenopodium album) is now a scrubland and hedgerow delicacy which I and many others, love to find!

Later today I’m hoping for a little sun and drier weather as its my first Canal side urban herb walk. What will we find, I wonder…

365 Frankendael day 83

365 Frankendael

It rained a lot today…

I went looking for poisonous Birthwort (NL: Pijpbloem, Aristolochia clematis) which earned a fatally flawed reputation as a remedy for women’s reproductive system ailments, due to the Doctrine of Signatures. Some still advocate its use for birth control and other uses but there is lots of evidence linking it to cancer of the urinary system, cancer of the liver and kidney failure or at least kidney damage. I steer well clear of this plant, it is quite striking in appearance and in the spring the leaves look very exotic. All parts are poisonous.

I also found Tansy (Tanacetum vulgaris) in bloom. Some cut leafy stems are drying in amongst my wardrobe clothes, to ward off moths.

Here is Comfrey (Symphytum uplandica). Still looking verdant and potent after flowering.

Edible Goat’s-beard (Tragopodon pratensis).

And lastly, Soapwort with pale pink flowers. Called Bouncing Bet in the US and Saponaria officinalis in Latin.

365 Frankendael day 81

365 Frankendael, , ,

Today’s photos are from the geveltuin and tree pit, I tend beneath our apartment. I wanted to share this beautiful Hollyhock and to mention some of the forgotten uses of the plant. It is a biennial, flowering in its second year after germinating and this plant arrived by luck two years ago. We have an extremely dry, south facing geveltuin (pavement garden) beneath a bay window. Very few weeds are able to set down their roots and survive amongst the Mediterranean herbs, I have planted there. But this lovely Hollyhock did find its feet and what beautiful flowers we have been treated to this summer! Hollyhock is a member of the Mallow family and can be made into an inflammation calming tea, to soothe sore thoats and bronchitis for instance, a poultice to soothe inset stings and is sometimes used in cosmetics to soften the skin. This Hollyhock serves its purpose by looking very pretty at my front door. Maybe in the next year or two I’ll try some Hollyhock remedies, if it throws down any seeds this summer.

Whilst outside taking the Hollyhock photo, I noticed that a little Tomato plant has sprung up next to yet another welcome guest – Wormwood. I planted the small Lady’s Mantle plant myself, it had self seeded into a roof pot some months ago and I transplanted it downstairs. How nice that Wormwood, a rare plant in the Netherlands, has made it self at home next to it. I don’t think the tomato play will be able to bear fruit this year but it’s very welcome none the less.

365 Frankendael day 80

365 Frankendael, Trees, , , ,

Just a quick post today – Chestnuts forming…

on a beautiful old Horse Chestnut tree.

In contrast to the Sweet Chestnut tree I showed yesterday, this tree yields very hard inedible nuts which, when carefully strung with a shoe lace (and further hardened if you are a real pro) serve as a fun autumn toy for children – Conkers!

Medicinally speaking, Horse Chestnut is widely reputed as an effective external treatment for varicose veins and broken capillaries (such as thread veins and hemorrhoids). The ointment is quite simple to make. You need to make infused oil using the leaves and/or conkers first of all. Then when your oil is ready, warm it up gently and blend in enough beeswax to make an ointment of acceptable consistency. I bought some once and it was almost rock hard, not handy for gently smoothing over delicate thread veins…

I’m going to be making a double tincture and double infused oil this year; adding the leaves to both vodka and oil in summer and then add the conkers to the same carriers come autumn. I’ll make my ointment from the oil, beeswax and a little tincture for added effectiveness. Of course varicose veins and hemorrhoids can be extremely serious conditions so this remedy, although trusted by many, shouldn’t be used without firstly checking that more radical treatments are not immediately necessary.

365 Frankendael day 79

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Trees

Today some photos of small pavement herbs growing in cracks and well trodden corners of the park. You’d have to be fairly desperate to want to harvest them but they are useful for identification purposes and if you suddenly need some Ribwort to stop a nettle rash our Yarrow to stem a noise bleed, it’s good to know that theses herbs really are everywhere…

Here is a mini Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla ). Despite growing in such a restricted little habitat, the flowers do smell great.

Here are two sisters, narrow leaved Ribwort (Plantago lanceolata) and broad smooth-leaved Plantain (Plantago major), growing protected from strimmers, feet and digging claws beneath a small landscaping boulder.

Here’s Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) without flowers because it is constantly pressured by growing on a trampled pavement edge near the children’s playground. This plant is tiny in comparison to its neighbours in the long grassland.

This is part of a Beech hedge (Fagus sylvaticus) in the park. I’ve shown it before and just want to remind people of what tasty and plentiful foliage it has.

Here’s a young Sweet Chestnut tree (Castanea sativa). It’s really nice to see nut trees that have been deliberately planted in public places.