On 8th March 2019 I walked along the River Itchen in Hampshire between Shawford and Eastleigh, mostly along the old canal tow path:
River Itchen, Shawford, UK
River Itchen, Shawford, UK
Mute swans
Teasel (Dipsacus) field
Misteltoe
Common polypody (Polypodium vulgare)…called sisselrot here in Norway, the roots were eaten as a candy by children in the past!
Asplenium scolopendrium (Hart’s tongue fern)
Primrose (Primula vulgaris)
?
Dandelion
Sarcoscypha coccinea (?) (scarlet elf cup)
Ground elder (Aegopodium) with ivy
Duckweed (Lemna spp.)?
Duckweed (Lemna spp.)?
Cow parsley (?) already in flower
Not to be confused with this one, Hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata), the most poisonous plant in the UK!
Old man’s beard (Clematis vitalba)…the shoots are a favourite cooked vegetable in Italy in the spring
…and a video of a large population of Elfin cups (Sarcoscypha coccinea)?
And now some pictures taken on 10th March from the Monks Brook, a stream behind my parents’ house in Chandlers Ford where a lot of foragables were already available (a full two months before our area in Norway!), starting with a video ending with Helleborus foetidus.
Allium ursinum (ramsons)
Allium ursinum (ramsons)
Nettles (Urtica dioica) and cleavers (Galium aparine)
Nettles (Urtica dioica) and cleavers (Galium aparine)
It snowed all day yesterday, but it’s unfrozen underneath and spring bulbs like snowdrops (snøklokke), coltsfoot (hestehov), winter aconite (vinterblom), Crocus tommasianus and Hepatica transylvanica are in flower under the snow. Remembering where the edibles are located, I can still harvest food under the snow:
Despite the deep snow, a yellowhammer (gulspurv) was intent on defending its territory against a second singing male behind me (stopped just as the video starts)
For the second year running, a pair of great spotted woodpeckers (flaggspett) have set up a territory including the garden. I’ve heard drumming several times recently!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
