There is so much about in the hedgerows at the moment it's difficult to know what to pick first.

Bramble bushes, are absolutely dripping with blackberries which can be used for so many different things including jams, jellies, puddings and wines. The berry Itself is not only tasty but rich in vitamin C and high in fibre. The shoots and leaves of the plant used as tea and made into lotions are said to be good for digestive and skin problems.

Bramble leaf tea is apparently an excellent tonic and a remedy for mild anaemia. Brambles have been eaten for centuries and in the past whole families would descend on the countryside and pick buckets of the fruit.

Another fruit in abundance is the sloe or blackthorn. The bushes are fairly tipping over with the weight of the sloe berries. Apparently in the past sloes were eaten as a fruit they are

Hedgerow Harvest

By Jennifer Green

September

(Stone Bramble)

Next Month: hawthorn, rosehip, hazelnuts.

the ancestor of the plum, but just try eating one and you'll find that hard to believe!

However, sloes make excellent jellies, wine and best of all, sloe gin. I try to make some of this every year with the intention of keeping some until the following Christmas, i.e. until it is over one year old, and have never done it yet.  Friends drop in just to try this year's brew and usually a party follows.

Leave the sloes a little longer on the bushes yet, they're not quite ready for picking until you can feel the berry 'give' when you squeeze it.

I have also found wild apples growing alongside sloe bushes. They are not the true wild crab apple, more like a cultivated apple seed that's grown in the wild. The fruit were dainty, quite red and plenty of them, but unfortunately the shrubby tree was surrounded by brambles and sloes and impossible to get to.

Remember the health of the hedgerow is in our hands. Only take what is in abundance and never over pick plants. Only eat what you are absolutely sure about, a good reference book will come in handy. Never dig up plants to transfer to your own garden, not only is it against the law, it is morally wrong. Do not pick plants which are endangered or are rare, again a reference book will point these out. And lastly, if you pick to eat, watch where you collect from. Remember someone may have passed that way earlier with their dear little pooch.

©Jennifer Green.