Hop (Humulus lupulus – what a latin name!) is entwined about a meter up last year’s dead stems today and looks far healthier and more vigorous than any cultivated Hop plant I have seen. I am really looking forward to seeing whether or not its flowers are as impressive.
Mugwort is growing beautifully on wasteland near a Frankendael bus stop. It is helpfully showing the silver underside of a few leaves in the breeze.
This member of the Hawthorn species reminds us clearly that Hawthorns are members of the Rose family. Valerian officinale is almost ready to flower in wetter areas of the park.
And Agrimony plants are making themselves more obvious is some drier sunny areas.
Also today, towering Pink Purslane (Montia sibirica) is in flower. It looks similar in structure to Winter purslane (Montia perfoliata, which is low growing and currently growing like crazy along the Centuurbaan fence of Sarphatipark. Often called Miner’s Lettuce it tastes great!) However, Pink Purslane is said to have a nasty acrid aftertaste and should be avoided by foragers. It’s such a beautiful flower at this time of year that it’s good to know it tastes bad!
OK, so runner beans are not herbs but this is my first real attempt at surreptitious gardening in Amsterdam. I bought a huge bag of runner beans in a country store, whilst visiting my parents. I used what was required at home and school and thought the rest would look good adorning some Amsterdam trees, hedges and wire fences. I also think there should be more food plants in cities, so this was a start.
I wanted to get them off to a good start so I sprouted them in a bowl, over a few days. They got going quickly so I appealed for help from the urbanherbology meetup.com group and twitter.
Thursday was a bit of a miserable day weatherwise so in the end it was me, my little girl, Sameena and her neighbour who did the planting. I chose Oosterpark because it’s easy to access and could use a little positive energy in parts. It’s also somehow possible to blend in with a trowel in your hand.
Oosterpark is quite a traditional old park, complete with bandstand, children’s paddling pool, some beautiful sculptures and lots of wrought iron fencing. We chose a few locations with good fencing and planted out all of the seeds. Hopefully they will grow well and even if they don’t produce a good crop of beans, perhaps they’ll provide a splash of colour against those railings.
Many thanks to Sameena & Amber for their help. Next time, perhaps I’ll be more daring in my planting location and we’ll get a few more helpers along.
Many visitors to this site are interested in wild herbs and foraging. As you probably know, I do my foraging in the city of Amsterdam and am keen to encourage more of you to learn about the herbs around you. Often those I speak to are unaware that right here in Amsterdam, there are herbs to be foraged every single day of the year – if you know where to look.
From the New Moon in April 2012 I’ll be adding a little challenge to this site. I’m calling it 365 Frankendael because I live close to that beautiful Amsterdam park. I aim to post a photo and comment about herbs I have found in and around Park Frankendael, every day, for a year.
I’m sure to be away for some part of the year so will appeal for a little assistance when those times approach. If you’d like to help out then please contact me.
I hope you like the idea and will enjoy watching the herbal year in Frankendael unfold.
I’m pleased to announce another (and long overdue) Urban Herbology Wild Herb Walk in Amsterdam. I’ll be running it on Monday 21st May 2012, from the main gates of Frankendael Park. The walk will start at 11am and every one interested in finding out about wild herbs, which can be found in central Amsterdam, is welcome.
My previous walks have been great fun to organise and very well received. We will take a relaxed look at the bounty of early summer herbs to be found in and around the park. The walk will last about 90 minutes and will probably end at the lovely cafe/restaurant Merkelbach, situated just inside the main entrance of the park. Cost per participant will be €8. Previous walks have been oversubscribed, it is essential that those wishing to join me book ahead. Please email Lynn.Shore@gmail.com or call me on 0627 596930.
During the walk I’ll share with you will…
Receive a useful handout, to refer to after the walk
Learn how to find and identify some safe, useful, local herbs,
Learn how to harvest with respect for the environment,
Learn how to use herbs safely in several different ways,
Receive some tastey Urban Herbal recipes.
And of course you will get the chance to meet other folk who like to know a little more about what’s growing beneath and above them! If it sound interesting to you then please contact me.
Today’s Midsummer Herb walk in Frankendael was super. The sun came out, so did many beautiful flowers and also 9 other lovely Urban Herbologists. As several other people contacted me, asking for a weekend walk, I am going to offer the Midsummer walk again this coming Sunday, at 10am. So…
Join me for another Urban Herbology Wild Herb Walk on Sunday 26th June 2011 at 10:00.
The walk will be in Frankendael Park, Amsterdam, starting at the main (old) gate. I shall wait just inside the entrance, by the bike racks (entrance in this photo..)
Handouts, including photos, notes and recipes, will be provided.
We will…
Take a relaxed look at useful wild herbs which are plentiful at this time of year.
Share ideas about how to use them in food.
Consider some of the herbal medicine uses.
Talk about some interesting herbal folklore.
Meet others who are interested in herb foraging in Amsterdam.
The walk itself will last for at least an hour and previously we have continued chatting over cups of herb tea and cake in Merkelbach restaurant, which sits within the park. This Sunday is the monthly organic market called Pure Markt, so perhaps you would prefer to go there afterwards to buy some tasty organic food and drink.
The cost for the walk is €5 per person.
Places are limited to 15 so please do contact me via email if you would like to attend. The Urban Herbology www.meetup.com group can also be used to sign up for this.
I am really looking forward to seeing everyone this Sunday and having a relaxed look at some of the herbs which are currently available in this beautiful park.
I am organising a Wild Herb Walk in Amsterdam, this November. If you are interested in coming along, please contact me so I have an idea of the amount of interest.
This will be a relaxed walk, in an easily reached location, learning how to identify, gather and use some common medicinal and food herbs which grow wild in the city. Many beautiful, interesting and useful herbs are available at this time of year so why not join us, learn a little about them and get to know a few other UrbanHerbologists at the same time?
Further details will be posted soon. Please get in touch via email or in reply to this post if you are interested.
There are many public spaces in the heart of Amsterdam where ripe herbal fruits, leaves and flowers can be found at the moment. Wild cherry, chickweed, dandelion, mallow, nettle, chestnuts, yarrow, walnuts and sloes, are just a few treats you could find. Today I also noticed that scented geraniums have been planted in the tree pits on Mr Visserplein. Urban herbs are rarely far away, growing on walls, roadsides, between paving stones and in untended spaces. Pollution from cars, people and pets mean that not all locations are suitable to harvest from, but urban foraging is good fun and can be very rewarding throughout the year.
Most people have foraged fruits such as blackberries at some time or other but few harvest herbs on a regular basis yet there are so many available to us! This weekend consider taking a herb walk with family or friends, through some local green and relatively clean area of your city. Try to build your knowledge of local herbs and how to use them. I’ll be looking for rose hips in my local park and will post a simple syrup recipe next week. If you don’t feel confident enough to pick, then notice where a few useful herbs grow on your way to work or in your local park. There are so many edible wild plants in this part of Europe, I’m sure more people could find and make use of at least one or two.
The following is a brief outline of how to set about foraging. It is certainly not a full guide, you should consult a good book on the subject and perhaps join a weed/foraging walk in your area for further guidance.
Where to look: I prefer to harvest from the greener parts of cities and in Amsterdam there is choice. We have some relatively clean canal side verges, lots of parks, trees on quiet roads and hedgerows away from main roads. I avoid herbs from beside busy roads or other places where pollution is likely. I also try to pick from as high up as possible, to avoid plant material that has been soiled by passing people and animals.
How to identify the herbs: Stick to herbs you are certain of and use a good field guide and foraging guide when harvesting any herbs you are new to. Mostly I use The Wild Flower Key: British Isles – N.W. Europe, by Francis Rose and Food for Free, by Richard Mabey. The Self Sufficient-ish Bible, by Andy and Dave Hamilton is too big to carry around but is also a great foraging resource.
Picking rules:
Double check the identity of everything you pick (or consider picking). If in doubt don’t pick or use.
Forage easily identifiable herbs and avoid those which may be easily confused with poisonous relatives.
Try anything new to you in very small quantities.
Forage only from areas where there is plenty of the herb you are interested in.
Be considerate, careful and moderate. Pick sparsely to help conserve the health of the plant, it’s appearance and the wild animals it supports. Never strip all the leaves, berries or whichever part you are interested in from a plant, however tempting. Take only a little from each plant, leave plenty and avoid harming plants by rough picking.
Flowers or seeds of annual plants shouldn’t be picked, their seeds are needed for their survival.
Never pull up whole plants or pick from rare plants.
Urban Herbology 