Hedgerow remedies

Ahead of our Roots and Fruits workshop this Saturday, Sessional Worker Jackie explains all about the benefits of wild plants and fruits.

In Fife at this time of year we have hedgerows that are full of useful and tasty plants and fruit. A walk in your local park or woods (or in my garden a visit to the overgrown ‘wild’ area) can lead to some interesting and delicious discoveries.

Most of us are familiar with brambles – they are a great way to start eating wild fruit as they are easy to identify. Make sure you are picking them away from busy roads to avoid pollutants. You can use brambles to make jams, jellies, in baking and puddings. But did you know they are also useful as a remedy? They are high in vitamin C and, when made into a syrup or vinegar, they can be soothing for a sore throat.

Elderberries are another common fruit at this time of year. They are high in antioxidants and can help boost your immune system and relieve the symptoms of a cold. Make them into a syrup to take at the first sign of a cold or dilute into a hot drink to help soothe a cough, but don’t eat them raw as they could cause an upset stomach.

It’s important to be careful when picking wild plants or fruit – you should only use them if you are positive about their identification. And to protect our wild areas please only pick a small amount and leave plenty for birds and wildlife.

This year at Greener Kirkcaldy we are working with herbalist Simone Melanie from Solar Ripe. Our next workshop is ‘Roots and fruits’ on Saturday 7^th September. If you’d like to find out more about hedgerow remedies, identifying wild food and how to preserve wild plants – come along to the workshop where we’ll also be making a herbal remedy to take home.