Category Archives: 365 Frankendael

365 Frankendael day 78

365 Frankendael, Foraging, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We filled our pockets with small, sour, fallen apples in the park today. We met an interesting lady with her dog, who told us about eating Walnut leaves, Hazelnut foragers and Honingclaver (literally Honey clover, Sweet Clover, Melilotus spp.). It’s fine to eat Sweet clover in small amounts but as you’ll read in the link above, it can interact with some blood thinning drugs and no one should eat too much of this plant.

Today’s photos:
Firstly, Ground elder (Aegopodium podograria) springing up in the rain soaked, just mowed outer verges of the park.  A welcome sight, I love eating this plant and much of it looks quite stale in the other areas of the park.

Next up, Burdock flowers. As mentioned before, the second year plants flower and are not useful really. But use this sight in the urban wild to help you find first year plants perhaps.

Next a beautiful Rose, growing next to Frankendael Huis. So beautiful ans so many ways to eat them.

Here’s fragrant, digestive system soother Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria). Please see the day 72 posting for further details and links.

Here’s a plant growing in the pond behind Frankendael huis which I spotted on the recent Greenpeace walks in Amsterdamse Bos. It is known as Gypsywort in Britaian and Bugelweed in the US (Lycopus europaeus). I still need to learn it’s uses but am pleased to have found it in Frankendael today.

Here is a very large, sprawling and Poisonous White Bryony (Bryonia alba), making itself at home over a big old Yew tree (Taxus baccata), also Poisonous and steeped in folklore, mainy to do with the dead.

Do you remeber that ploughed up strip of parkland, next to Restaurant de Kas?  Well this is how some of it looks today.  It seems to have been sewed with a wildflower mixture and it has begun to look quite beautiful.

365 Frankendael day 77

365 Frankendael, Foraging, , , , , , , , ,

Here is Wild Basil (Satureja vulgaris / Calamintha clinopodium). It doesn’t smell nearly as strongly as its cultivated cousins but it tastes good and is a useful culinary herb if you are lucky enough to find a favourable patch. There are reports on the internet of it being used as a heart tonic but I can’t find any real reference to this and know it more as a useful herb to sooth digestive complaints such as gassiness and indigestion, much as close relative mint can be used. It is easy to identify; a hairy labiate so having square stems, small pale purple labiate flowers positioned in rings around the stems above leaf bases. The increasing size of the flowers makes the leaves point increasingly downwards, as the season moves on. The leaf veins are quite distinctive, more pronounced beneath and depressed above than most similar plants. The leaves grow in pairs, opposite each other on the stem. It smells aromatic when the leaves are bruised but not hugely so. Not like cultivated basil which is very strongly aromatic. This plant has been flowering in Amsterdam for a few weeks now and should continue to do so until September. I find the name Wild Basil a little misleading and prefer to think of it as a Calamint (which it is).

Wild marjoram (Origanum vulgaris) is the next Frankendael herb today and another well known culinary name. I last photographed it on day 2 and since then it has thrived and flowered. The flowers grow at the top of the stems rather than those of Basil. Marjoram flowers are more pink than purple and the plant smell stronger than Wild basil. The stems are distinctly woody. As well as being tasty and easy to grow in a pot, Marjoram has many historic uses including releiving the pain of rheumatism, easing colic and headaches. There are modern reports of it having quite potent anti cancer properties. Marjoram is quite a strong herb, as well known culinary herbs go, and is one to avoid during pregnancy. I also know of Greek and Turkish women who went out for a hearty plateful of Marjoram flavored food, when their baby’s delivery date is overdue. I tried it and it didn’t work for me but the food tasted great and it cheered me up no end!

Musk Mallow (Malva moschata). Here’s an interesting link in Dutch, for some information about uses of this beautiful plant and also two similar looking ones, Marsh Mallow and Hollyhock.

365 Frankendael day 76

365 Frankendael, Wild herbs, , , , , ,


Firstly today is Yarrow, NL: Duizendblad (Achillea millefolium) growing in a protected and well fertilized spot, next to a lamppost on Hugo de Vrieslaan. I use it mainly as a wound herb, I rub the juices gently on lightly wounded skin as an antisptic and to stem bleeding and as a fast remedy to nosebleeds. There are a great many uses for this herb. It is definitely one that far more people should know about and learn how to use. My daughter loves to nibble on this plant, perhaps because she can easily recognize it and pick the leaves from my roof pots but it shouldn’t really be ingested by under 5 year olds due to the strength of its blood regulating action. This plant grows all over the place, very easily and there are coloured flowered varieties which also have the same medicinal effects. I have a red flowered one on the roof. It makes an interesting addition to salads, just a leaf or two chopped up a little is all that’s needed. Be aware that it will bring on bleeding so not for pregnant women. Having said that it also helps to normalize mentrual cycles in some women. A very useful herb.


Above is the uniquely “fragranced” Field Woundwort (Stachys arvensis). Another wound herb, not as potent as Yarrow and not bitter tasting but very aromatic. Its a member of the Labiates and tastes a little of mint, but its quite different aswell. Good as a tea now and then, also a herb with many historic uses. See day 52 for some more information and links about this prolific urban waterside herb – why it’s called field woundwort, I’m not sure, I always find it beside water.

Above is Rosebay Willowherb (Epilibium angustifolium). Edible and medicinal (some use it for treating puss filled boils) not one I’ve really used, just eaten the odd flower and young shoot. Apparently it’s popular in several countries as a spring vegetable. Patrick Whitefield taught me about it some years ago, on a permaculture course. It often grows profusely on wasteland. I remember a lot of it growing on freshly cleared building plots, near my home as a child. It is a pioneer species, giving it the common name in North America of Fireweed.

365 Frankendael day 75

365 Frankendael, Evergreen herbs, Foraging, Poisonous herbs, Seed saving, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I went for an earlier walk in the park today and was rewarded by finding the freshest and most delicious Lime (Tilia) flowers that I have ever harvested.  Here’s the tree they came from.  I turned them into a tea and shared it with the painters and my little girl.  Lime tea is especially good on a warm summer day like today. It is cooling and refreshing.

Here’s a neighbouring Tilia tree in the park. It must be a different variety as everything about it is a little smaller than most Tilia in the park and the the leaves are a little darker.  The flowers are also placed slightly differently on the twigs. I don’t know so much about the different varieties but I do know that Tilia tastes good and is very beneficial.

Next is a harmonious grassland combination of Plantain, Yarrow and Red clover in bloom.  I set off today hoping to find enough Yarrow to make a tick-deterring tincture. I got rather side tracked by other herbs and in the end, didn’t notice enough to harvest. So instead of tincturing, two flower stalks are brightening up a small vase on my dining table.  It’s good to remember just how many ways there are to benefit from flowers.

Here are two of my favourite things, my little girl and a huge Brassica plant.  As with most naturalised and wild brassicas, all parts are edible and quite strong tasting. Just a carefully picked leaf or two should liven up a meal.  (Thanks Jennie for correcting me on this one, I thought it was Wild Cabbage but that only grows near the coasts on chalky soil). This one may be Rapseed (Brassica napus). My friend Jennie Akse is running a herb walk focused on edible yellow flowering plants, around in Amsterdam at present.  Have a look at the Meetup group for details.

Here is a herb that I find quite wondrous, Dark Mullein (Verbascum nigrum). Useful for many disorders, such as lung weakness and infection and most popular, I think, as an ear infection remedy.

Next up today is another herbal harmony, Veronica‘s towering blue spires mixed with more Mullien, Mugwort and Agrimony.

Here are some striking and Poisonous Lilies, in the formal garden behind Frankendael Huis and Merkelbach.  I add this photo because yesterday I featured the very edible Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva), which can look very similar to the uninitiated.  All parts of Lily are toxic. I have never thought about eating this type of plant but I find the pollen, when trapped in a living room with it for instance, very irritating.

Here is Catnip (Nepta sp). A member of the mint family, it can be used in similar refreshing ways. I like to make a sinus blasting pesto with it sometimes. It has many uses and is quite easy to grow.  Many will already know about cat’s affinity to this herb.  Some love it and find it quite a turn on, others seem to lack receptivity to it and many show more of a loved-up reaction to Valerian.

Another minty wonder is shown below, the often overlooked and trampled Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea). The pretty purple flower spikes are gone from most of the plants now but just look at that rich foliage! Now is a good time to harvest and use it or dry it for the winter. But why bother when this ground covering  plant is around all year long?

Next is a delicious Garlic Mustard plant (Alliaria petiolata), showing different stages of seed pod development. This is a wonderfully tasty herb to add to all sorts of cooking.  It is also great used as a salad leaf or flower.  Looking at these seed pods reminds me of why it’s a pity to harvest the flowers of this super biennial.  Less flowers, less seeds, less plants next year.

Next is a large plant which I’ve been hunting for some time – a first year Burdock (Arctium lappa), ripe for root harvesting.  It seemed that all the Burdock in Amsterdam were second years, in bloom and not very nutritious or medicinal.  Now that the council have mowed some patches of the park, some first year Burdock have been kindly left to develop.  I won’t be digging this plant up but it’s good to see it and be reassured that a first year plant is easy to identify.

Lastly today, a type of Hyssop (Hyssopus sp.).  I used this plant quite a lot last year, it is very aromatic and makes good tea. I’ll have a careful look at this one again soon to identify it fully.

365 Frankendael day 74

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Wild herbs, , , ,


Lots of edibles but not much time to photograph them today. Here’s a photo of a smart young Tilia, Lime or Linden tree growing on the edge of the park. I just wanted to mention that the trees are still very much in flower and the flowers are very tasty and easy to dry for later use. Tilia is nothing to do with citrus Lime, although many find it a very refreshing herb. Here’s my previous post about Lime and it’s uses.


Next is Daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) a flowering plant that looks too dramatic to be wild or edible and yet it is quite a forager’s favourite. Please be aware that regular lilies are definately not edible. Day lilies are different. I haven’t yet tried them and hope to later this week. Here are a few links which you may like to peruse if you have mind to harvest and eat some…

Susun Weed, Lily family article
Dining on Daylilies
Eat the weeds article

365 Frankendael day 73

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Poisonous herbs, Wild herbs, , , , ,

I caught the bus to work this morning and was able to check out my usual Fat Hen (Lamb’s Quarters, Chenopodium album) and Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) collection spot. Here it is, a few days post council mowing. Fortunately there are lots of intact Mugwort plants in adjacent unmowed areas but the Fat Hen is no more. I’ll keep my eyes open for another patch of them as I really enjoy their flavour.

Here is poisonous White Bryony (Bryonia alba), flowering faintly as it grows over a hearty looking Bramble. I didn’t have much time for photos today so thought I’d look up the uses of White Bryony in one of my favorite old herbals – Mrs M. Grieve’s Modern Herbal. The link above is from a useful online version of that book. It was used historically as a purgative for people, cattle and horses. It is a powerful irritant and cathartic, i.e. it makes people throw up very violently and is not a plant to be dabbled with. I love the reference in the book to scoundrels of old, digging up the roots and placing them in moulds to allow them to grow into imitation Mandrake roots. If only their modern day counterparts had that much skill with plants! I really like the look of this plant and if I didn’t have a child or cat in my home I’d probably harvest some and use it in some way, but certainly not internally. All parts of the plant are poisonous.

365 Frankendael Day 73

365 Frankendael, , , , , ,

Lots of beautiful flowering herbs in the park again today. My camera kept taking over exposed photos so here are the passable ones…

Mallow (Malva sp.), full of slippery soothing mucilage and goodness. This is a nourishing and useful herb to grow. I tried it several years ago in one of my Permapots and although the plant faded away during a harsh winter, the seeds pop up every year and provide me with some tasty leaves. There are perennial varieties, I need to identify the one in this photo properly but all are useful and edible. There are masses of these plants along side some roads at the moment. The flowers look quite striking as they are much larger than those of most wild herbs.

St John’s / St Joan’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), with it’s sunshine filled flowers and leaves which can be turned into a mood lifting tincture and muscle soothing oil. I use the infused oil as a very effective sun protection lotion. I have very fair skin and it always works. It also helps to sooth sunburn when that does arise. Susun Weed pioneered this use of the herb, I am very grateful as I really dislike lots of the chemicals in commercial sun lotions.

I’ve had my eye out for this herb little beauty for a long while and finally I found it in flower today – Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris). A herb with lots of history and a multitude of uses.

Lastly today, Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria). Panacea of the ancients, now used mainly as a remedy for the pain of stomach acid indigestion and gall stones.

365 Frankendael day 72

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Wild herbs, , , , ,

We had a lovely long walk in the park today so lots of photos, lots of plants and lots of harvesting for tinctures, drying food and more.

The plants shown below are:
Tansy,
Meadowsweet,
Feverfew,
Mullein,
Mock strawberry,

Here is Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), a powerful herb which is immediately apparent if you pick and smell a leaf. I harvested some pre-flowing tops today, to make a simple moth repellant for my wardrobe and a tincture in case of use through the year. Tansy is very strong and not to be used casually. It has many modern and historical uses including being a potent insecticide, anti worm medicine and more. It can cause contact dermatitis so it is not one for the cut flower vase. I like this herb a lot but treat it with lots of respect.

Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria is another herb I gratefully harvested today. It makes a good stomach medicine, as a tea or tincture. It can help with stomach ulcers, general stomach upsets such as gas and can help calm excess stomach acid. It contains salicyclic acid, the derivative of Asprin and should be used with caution by those taking Asprin as it will increase the dose present in the body. It is interesting to note that unlike Asprin, which can cause gastric bleeding, Meadowsweet has a soothing effect on that area of the body. Another example of how taking a chemical out of its natural plant environment changes it’s affect on the body. Meadowsweet is traditionally harvested now, just before the flowers open. Finally I found some that had just bloomed in the Frankendael ponds. I harvested some pre-flowering tops, have tinctured a couple and am drying the rest. By harvesting very gently and not to low down the stem I get stronger tinctures/ tea and also allow the plants to have another go at flowering this season.

Next is Feverfew, Tanacetum parthenium, a traditional remedy for migraine. I tried it several years ago, hated the taste and didn’t really notice much effect but I simply ate a few leaves between bread. I don’t suffer from migraines these days but if they return ill try a tincture of this pretty little plant and keep trying for a while. The taste of herbs is important in their effectiveness. Taste is the first part of digestion. It primes the internal organs for the food or medicine that is to come. Bear this in mind if you like to take your herbs packed up tastelessly in capsules. Feverfew is currently adorning many pavement cracks, untended planters and road verges in Amsterdam.

Next is the spectacular flower spire of a Mullein plant. I collect individual flowers throughout the flowering season and add them to a small pot of olive oil. It makes a handy ear treatment.

Next are the delightful edible not-strawberries of Potentilla indica, sometimes called Mock Strawberry. I picked a handful with my little girl and we will cook them up with some fallen apples from the public mixed fruit orchard in Park Frankendael. On the recent Greenpeace walk one of the participants told me that her Dutch mother-in-law likes to harvest these almost tasteless fruits and preserve them in vodka. She likes the taste it makes as a drink. Maybe I’ll try adding them to a Rum Pot this year.

Here’s the little orchard.

365 Frankendael day 71

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Wild herbs, , , , , ,

Meadowsweet, buds still developing. I’ve been waiting for them to open into almond scented flowers for several weeks now. Still good for harvesting. Delicious as a tea and beneficial for stomach disorders and pain relief.

Here is my favourite tonic herb in flower: Leonurus cardiaca, Motherwort. My park harvested tincture is developing nicely on my kitchen shelf at present. So easy to make and so little of the herb had to be harvested. I used part of this plant for my tincture and there’s no evidence left to see, just a healthy and beautiful plant for everyone to enjoy.

Next is another pain reliever, but far too potent for me: Poppy, Papaveraceae sp. On a recent meetup group Lime harvest, a member told me how her French Grandmother used to swear by a cough syrup which she brewed down from poppy flowers and sugar. Isobel has made this her self and says it’s beautiful, works a treat but has an unfortunate blood pressure altering effect so she had to stop using it. Not so surprising as the poppy family is the source of morphine. I heard of another contemporary Poppy remedy this week on the Green Peace Walks I led. Boiling up the flowers in water, a decoction, as a heroine substitute! This was witnessed by a walker and not made by any of the Greenpeace walkers, I hasten to add. Not really my cup of tea, but certainly a useful last ditch pain reliever if ever there was an urgent need. The dosage of herbal remedies is often quite a fine art. The amount required for a medicine like effect, depending upon time of harvest, freshness of herb etc. That’s why I stick to mainly tonic herbs, they can be taken for a reasonably long period without negative effects building up and they work more by supporting health rather than suppressing illness. I think that Poopy remedies must be particularly subject to this variation and are thus seen as unsafe by almost everyone. A lot of people enjoy the seeds as a bread ingredient. By harvesting seeds from small patches of Poppy such as this one, the chance of Poppy plants next year is greatly reduced.

Next today is Veronica, also called Speedwell. I have never used the plant but it’s a useful and very beautiful one. I’m not exactly sure of the genus of Veronica but its similar to Veronica spicata.

There was more mowing going on in and around the park today and also I noticed that a sprawling poisonous White Bryony had been carefully removed, from the Juniper bush I watch it climb. Perhaps also by the maintenance team? This poisonous plant remains and does look rather lovely: Birthwort.

Here is Teasel, now with fully formed and about to bear a pretty ring of tiny flowers around those distinctive flower heads. This plant shows much promise in the treatment of Lyme’s Disease. I like to drink from the water collecting leaf joints, on dewy mornings.

There were so many other plants around today but not enough time to write about them. I also met Joop, looking for the Spoonbill and a freindly local woman, also taking photos of plants, who has a children’s clothing range inspired by the nature in park Frankendael. What a lovely idea! Sorry, I forgot to ask her name, if she reads this perhaps she’d like to email me or place a comment below.

365 Frankendael day 70

365 Frankendael, Foraging,

Today the council mowed many of my favourite herb-filled verges, in this part of Amsterdam. Often I worry about harvesting from such verges, trying to do it in a way that leaves no obvious trace. Then this happens and I stop worrying quite so much. The time chosen does allow for many herbs to seed beforehand but not all of them. Those beautiful Burdock plants were just a few weeks away from seeding and Mugwort was at it’s most beautiful and useful phase. At present, most people don’t know about those plants and they would soon have looked too straggly for many. The poison Hemlock which I watched for weeks, was cut to the ground in this mowing. Just before the seeds matured, so I see that as a positive thing. I’m also very appreciative that the green verges are managed so that they look very attractive for most of the year and thus are welcomed in the city.

Near the garden centre entrance of the park, mowing also occurred today but a healthy strip of growth was left. Here are photos from that area. Firstly Hedge Woundwort,


Stinging nettle, setting seed,

Hemp Agrimony,

and Cleavers, in flower,