Category Archives: Urban Herb Walks

Day 3 – UH foraging challenge

April 24, 201730 day challenge, ForagingLynn

Have just noticed that this is my 600th blog post on Urban Herbology – Thank you for reading it!

A friend and I harvested quite a lot of daslook / wild garlic (Allium ursinum) today in Amsterdam. This plant is on the Netherlands endangered plant list but it grows like a weed in some parts of Amsterdam and is frequently foraged. One of the reasons for my running the River of Herbs orchards in Park Frankendael, is to have a place where ethical foragers can carefully harvest this plant, legally without getting into awkward situations.

We were sprinkled with cherry blossom confetti as we harvested. A beautiful experience! If you would like to help out at the orchards sometimes and learn more about herbs, let me know. We are there (almost) every Wednesday morning – year round.

And what did the challengers get up to today? ~~I’ll update with some of their day 3 foraging challenge plants and photos later today…~~

So, they have reported back to me with notes and photos of Japanese knotweed, dandelion, mugwort, motherwort, daslook, spring/Himalayan balsam, valerian, winter purslane, cherry blossom, stinging nettle and more. Here is a beautiful photo from Carol Poye, of Claytonia perfoliata (winter purslane / postelein).

I love the taste of this plant and never cease to be amazed by it’s appearance. Just look at the leaf shape and how the flowers seem to emerge from their centre. What a special plant. I am not surprised that this is grown as a crop salad in the Netherlands.

Here is a substantial patch of Japanese knotweed which Ann Doherty photographed. What a sour tasting edible stunner this is and yet what a brute it can be!

Photo credit - Ann Doherty — Photo credit – Ann Doherty

I remember looking at an old house for sale in Somerset, many years ago and Jap. knotweed was growing into that house through one meter thick stone walls and a thick concrete floor. That house had stood looking like a Midsommer Murder’s location for centuries (it was very pretty) but Japanese knotweed brought it to it’s knees. The plant is native to Japan where it is apparently kept in balance by other local plants. But here in Europe, it does not have such competition so quickly spreads, smothers other plants and finds barriers such as concrete little challenge to penetrate. I have long found it rather worrying to have this plant growing all over the place here in Amsterdam. For years it has been spreading here and the costly related problems in countries such as Canada and the UK are well known, yet little has been done about it here. I wrote a post about it in 2012 – take a look at the healthy knotweed specimen in the Hortus Botanicus! I guess that the green managers of Amsterdam felt that a balance of nature would arise and that the problems abroad were perhaps exaggerated. Having seen them first hand, I find it all rather worrying.

Finally, there is a new local map of the spreading invader, restaurants are starting to serve it, there is mention in gardening magazines but I find this recent awareness raising all rather late in the day. The plant continues to grow in great robust smothering swathes throughout Amsterdam parks and elsewhere. It erodes the waterway banks, penetrates so deeply and widely into the soil. The smallest flinter, on a trowel or spade, in boot treads etc will cheerfully regrow. Of course, all plants have a value but I would like Japanese knotweed to stay away from my building and from the beautiful biodiversity of Amsterdam. If you find it and fancy a taste, be totally sure not to leave any part of the plant hanging around. Cleanly cut the part you want (young and tender shoots are best), prepare it and any left overs should be burned. Amsterdam household waste heads off to the municipal incinerators, that’s the best route for Japanese knotweed. Don’t leave left overs, trimmings etc in your compost heap or worm bin. Here’s a simple recipe which I made up for the plant in 2012. I haven’t really eaten it since writing that post. The taste was good but perhaps thoughts of that crumbling cottage spoiled my appetite.

So with Japanese knotweed in mind, let’s journey on to day 4…

Join my 30 day challenge!

April 21, 2017Foraging30 day foraging challenge, urban foraging, wildpluk AmsterdamLynn

A few years ago I challenged myself to blog every day for a year about the edible plants which I find in Amsterdam. I loved the experience! Now, I want to challenge you!

The 365 Frankendael project taught me a lot and helped to spread the word about ethical urban foraging. It was a nourishing experience on many levels.

My 30 day challenge is to encourage you to find something edible growing in your town, city, suburb or village every day.

Take a photo or make a quick sketch.
Find out a little about the plant.
Maybe try to do something useful with it.
Tell me about it.

I’ll support you as much as possible by answering enquiries about the plants you find and by suggesting how they can be used. I’ll also send you a little inspirational email each day (only if you’d like that). No pressure, no requirement to eat the plants or even pick them but a lot of encouragement to find out more about the edible plants which grow around you.

So who’s up for it?! Either reply with a comment here or send me an email to urban.herbology.lynn@gmail.com.

I’ll start posting my daily finds and feedback from people who take up my challenge, from tomorrow.

Gentle wild garlic

March 5, 2016ForagingDaslook, Foraging, Park Frankendael, Wild GarlicLynn

I stood stupefied and watched a woman take out a knife and cut bunches of Wild garlic from inside the entrance of Park Frankendael this evening. Felt so mad and sad and bewildered that I didn’t know where to begin with her. So just stared at the mini massacre until she saw me and my little girl watching and finally she stopped.

Ramsons/Daslook/Wild garlic/Allium ursinum tastes outrageously good but it should be harvested gently! It is currently on the endangered list in NL so strictly, even though it’s almost a weed in some parts of some Amsterdam parks, it should not be cut or ripped out in handfuls! And even if it is prolific everywhere how could it feel good to rip or cut it like that!

If you know of a plentiful supply please go for the out-spill plants – where it’s growing in paths etc and will be rooted out by the park gardeners. Or grow your own. Or meet the park gardener and ask where/if he/she suggests you forage. And use your common sense. That woman foraged from the filthiest part of the park – dog spot number one – right by the main gates. Come on!

And even when you find thousands of those leaves, please know that just three leaves, plucked between finger and thumb are needed to make enough pesto, herb oil or mojo to last several weeks. After plucking carefully, no one should be able to see that anything has gone.

If you want some Daslook but still don’t know where, when and how to pluck it, please come and see me on Wednesday morning at the Frankendael orchards (10.00 – 11.00 behind Huize Frankendael). You can take home your own plant too, if you like.

We are what and how we eat.

Hot summer herbs

July 1, 2015Urban Herb WalksLynn

I’ve led a few herb walks recently and have had a lovely time meeting new people along the way. Today I ran my first herb walk in Diemerpark. It’s such an interesting location. Until just a few years ago the sunny open site was a rubbish dump for toxic waste. The council had the site cleaned up, sealed up, buried and filtered to create a new area of recreation and nature. The result is a large open park between Ijburg and Diemen which at present is exploding with colourful wildflowers and buzzing bees.

Diemerpark is very sandy and exposed. It is being populated by robust pioneer plants and is a great place to teach locals about plant ID and foraging because of its history.

Today we found a lot of plants and focused particularly on Viper’s Bugloss, Mullein, St John’s Wort, Hawthorn, Mugwort, Singing nettle, Self heal, Willow and Elder.

I’m planning to lead another walk at the site this summer. If you are interested then please let me know and keep an eye on my events page.

Spring Herbs Risotto

April 29, 2015Food, Foraging, Wild herbsLynn

Fennel and Lemonbalm harvest — Freshly plucked Fennel and Lemonbalm leaves

This time of year provides a bounty of nourishing and tasty spring herbs. Here is one way that I like to cook them – a simple, no-fuss risotto.

Today I harvested two large feathery Fennel leaves and three verdant tops of Stinging nettle (from Frankendael herb orchards). Yesterday I plucked three huge Dandelion leaves from the school garden (where I work). The dandelion leaves were wilting away in my fridge today but still taste great cooked, so those three herbs were chopped and added to the pot this evening. I could have many other herbs of course (Dead nettle, Wild garlic seedheads, Geranium and Ground ivy for instance) and I could have harvested heaps of Nettle and Dandelion leaves but there are other days, other meals, other foragers and other creatures who need those plants. Upmost in my urban foraging mind is that by using foraged material as I would use herbs (i.e. in small amounts for culinary seasoning), I reduce my environmental impact and reduce the risk of eating contaminants and plant poisons (should they happen to be on or in the foraged plants). This is why I call my work Urban Herbology, rather than urban foraging. To find out more, do come along on one of my herb walks soon!

: Lynn’s Spring Herb Risotto

Spring Herb Risotto
(makes about 2 main dish sized portions)

1/2 cup risotto rice – (non risotto rice will do, it just won’t become so creamy)

1 cup of good stock and 2 cups hot water (or 1/2 an organic chicken or vegetable stock cube in 3 cups hot water)
1 cup finely chopped seasonal fresh herbs (e.g. Fennel leaf, Dandelion, Stinging nettle).

1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
Salt/Nori flakes/pepper/Parmesan cheese to taste.

Method

1. Add the rice, stock and hot water to a heavy based pan.

2. Stir briefly to prevent it sticking to base of pan and bring to a boil.
3. Add chopped herbs and onion, stir and bring to boil again before reducing heat to simmer gently with lid on.
4. Simmer as per instructions for your specific rice, the dish thickens up considerably and may require lots more water, it depends on the type of rice used. My risotto rice took about 25 minutes to cook through completely and become nicely loose and creamy.
5. Whilst simmering, continue to stir briefly whenever you think about it. You may need to add a little more water to prevent stickiness.

6. When the rice is cooked through and of a good consistency, add the frozen peas to the pan. Simmer for a further 5 minutes.

7. Check and adjust seasoning (it may need a pinch of salt,nori flakes or pepper)
8. Serve with a hearty grating of Parmesan cheese if desired.

Strawberry Earth – Garden Safari

September 29, 2014Urban Herb WalksLynn

On Sunday 12th October, please join me for a herbal safari through the Tolhuistuin and surrounding streets of Amsterdam Noord.

As part of the Strawberry Earth Fair I will be offering a foraging walk to find the best wild plants that autumn has to offer. We can expect to find a wide range of treats which grow all over town. I’ll show you how to identify them, collect them ethically and teach you how to use them wisely in food and drinks.

10 Euro per ticket
13.00 – 14.30
Foraging handout and herb seeds included.

Starting from Strawberry Earth Fair, in Amsterdam Noord at the Tolhuis Coop venue. It’s just a stone’s throw from the free ferry which goes from Central station to Buiksloterweg.

Please Book tickets through Strawberry Earth./

See map for location here.

I hope to see you there!

Walks Twice a Month

July 4, 2014Urban Herb WalksLynn

From September 2014 I’ll be offering two Urban Herbology walks a month for anyone interested in learning more about local edibles and medicinals. One walk per month will be in Park Frankendael (my local stamping ground) and the other will be somewhere else in Amsterdam, could be street walks or park walks. I will aim for a different location each month for that one. The aim is to show you what grows throughout the year rather than just during the spring and summer.

Next walk will be on Monday 15th September.

I will also be setting up some sort of Urban Herbie incentive thing too, to say thanks when you to walk with me more than once, pay in advance or bring a friend along. So do let me know if you’d like an Urban Herbology walk near you or if you want to be updated when I organise this. Otherwise, keep an eye on the UH events page. You can also subscribe to the website feed to get automatically updated when I write a new blog post.

More details to follow…

Let’s speak!

June 17, 2014Urban Herb WalksLynn

The easiest way to contact me is via urban.herbology.lynn@gmail.com

or telephone/sms me on +31 (0) 6 2759 6930

I try my best to return calls and emails within 48 hours so if you don’t hear back from me by then, please try again!

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Wonderful Walkers!

May 26, 2014Dandelion and Burdock Coven, Foraging, Urban Herb WalksLynn

Huge thanks to all the lovely people who joined me for herb walks in Park Frankendael recently. It was a pleasure to meet you all, to see new faces, familiar faces and to hear your stories and questions. Here a few links and photos which the walks brought to my mind. If you have questions which are unaswered here please let me know.

Botany in a day – Thomas J. Epel
Available from the writer/publisher.
This is a wonderfully clear and fast track way to learn how to identify a vast number of plants. It works by teaching you the plant family patterns. Make the effort to start the book at the beginning (rather than dipping in and out as I usually do) as it walks you through the most common plant families in the first few pages. Learn those really well and you will be a whizz at plant ID in no time at all! They also produce some other great titles.

Lime Trees and a few of their uses
An UH blog post from a few years ago. You will see instructions on how to make that Provencal Rose coloured infusion which I mentioned today, at the end of that link. Please note the time of the Midsummer gathering this year is 2pm (14.00).

Dandelion and Burdock Coven
A friendly, open group of urban-nature-spirit loving types who gather on the main natural festival dates to celebrate the wheel of the year, also many full moons and other related occasions. We meet in Amsterdam or Diemen. Our next meeting is on Midsummer’s Day (Saturday June 21st 2014) – 2pm, Park Frankendael. This will be a family friendly gathering to celebrate the longest day together, share a few old solstice customs and eat our fill from the plants, whilst many are at the peak of their energy. Lime (Tilia not the citrus) leaves, Lime flowers, Mugwort, Elderflower champagne and other interesting things will be on the menu. As will some time and simple activities to help us reflect on what Midsummer means to us as part of nature. It is free to join but please do bring along a cup/beaker and a snack (maybe some bread to make Lime leaf sandwiches) if at all possible. The link above is to our Facebook group. There is no website.

What is around now?
Here’s a nice summary of what was found this time last year on one of my late May walks. You will see that most of the plants are a few weeks behind where they are this year. Notice especially the wild garlic which was in full bloom. Today we had a nibble on some immature seeds and some seeds were even ripe! The weather here is never average..

Teasel
A beautiful plant. We saw it today and talked about it’s potential for treating Lyme’s disease, collecting fresh water from the leaf joints and “teasing out” wool by using the seed heads as combs. Here’s a link on how to make a simple tincture. It seems that first year Teasel root is what shows promise for Lyme’s disease. In the UK, I wouldn’t dream of pulling up a Teasel root to make a tincture as Gold finches use the seeds as a primary food source. I’m not sure what the situation is here and have not tried it. Interesting to be aware of though, especially if Teasel grows on your land. Click on the image for a link to the RSPB, regarding Goldfinches in urban areas (of the UK).

Urban Foraging Rules
These are the rules I wrote and follow. They are written from a mixture of common sense, country foraging experience and urban awareness. They can always be improved. What additions can you suggest?

1. Be Accurate.
Know the plant, the area, poisonous look-a-likes, local endangered species and laws. Learn all can and always be 100% certain of the plants you harvest. If in doubt, don’t pick.

2. Keep it Light.
Overharvesting leads to rarity and extinction. Take only a little from each plant and leave plenty. Don’t harvest wild roots as this destroys the plants and roots generally harbour more toxins than other parts.

3. Clean Harvest.
Forage in clean areas as many plants accumulate heavy metals and toxins. Bug free environments, manicured areas, pavement cracks, power lines, busy roadsides and railways are often heavily polluted sites. Leave no trace and improve the area. Clean your harvest well and pick above dog height when possible!

4. Safe Harvest.
Test anything that is new to you in very small quantities, before consuming as part of a meal or tea and watch out for any signs that your body reacts badly to the plant.

River of Herbs
The orchards that I took the walkers to this spring, are being cared for and slowly transformed by the project which I set up in 2012 called River of Herbs. It is all about People, Plants and Pollinators. It provides free training and support for people who want to learn how to grow useful herbs in small or large urban spaces. Please come and join us sometime, we love plants and we love helpers. At the orchards (most Wednesdays, 9.30 – 11.30) we make herb tea at the site and feed you chocolate laden biscuits whilst you work on simple tasks such as seeding, weed pulling and pruning the fruit trees. It can’t be bad!

Thanks again for all your interest and enthusiasm. I hope to see you again soon.

April – May Herbs in Amsterdam

May 8, 2014Dandelion and Burdock Coven, Foraging, Urban Herb WalksLynn

April and May are very busy and green months!

There were two very pleasant public herb walks in April. Thanks to everyone who came along. It was so wonderful to meet you!

The Frankendael Park orchard project began. River of Herbs is gradually transforming the four old orchards behind Restaurant Merkelbach into shady community herb gardens. If you’d like to get involved then find us there one Wednesday morning (we’ll set regular work dates and times very soon) or email lynn@riverofherbs.org.

I led a large group of town planning students from Lund University in Sweden through Oud Zuid at the start of May. A pleasure to share some urban herb ideas with such enthusiastic and progressive people who are in a great position to make a difference.

A friendly Earth loving group called the Dandelion and Burdock Coven, was launched with my like minded friend Iris de Voogd.

To end the verdant month of May I am offering one more Urban Herbology guided walk through Park Frankendael, in the morning on Monday 26th May. If you would like to sign up for it then please email me via lynn.shore@gmail.com.

Elderflower is opening up all over town right now so be ready when you find it, to make Elderflower honey, dried flowers for tea (simply dry and store them in a paper bag), Elderflower delight and far more wonderful treats!