Local Wild Food

I went for a stroll on the bank of my local river today and could not believe some of the things I spotted growing. My mother and I were innocently filling up on blackberries when we spotted a few unusual stalks pushing up from the footpath, wall and hedgerow.

The River Bank:

The usual flowery bushes:

And then tiny wild carrots growing out of the dirt on the footpath:

I’d love to know where they spawned from - there was a pile of bird feed nearby so perhaps someone has been spreading various seeds. If only there had landed in the grass, I might have pulled some decent vegetables.

Then I noticed a shoot that resembled an onion stalk, so mam rooted around and pulled out some wild garlic:

It tasted and smelled divine. Intensely garlic, but not overpowering. We ate it raw.

As we moved on, we noticed some familiar looking leaves (thanks Lisa):

And voila, wild strawberries (although inedible at present)

Just over the ditch (where alot of locals throw their food waste leading to a wonderful compost heap), we spotted the most beautiful Nasturtiums (the largest I’ve ever seen, in leaf and flower size). Nasturtiums are entirely edible and the flowers have a delicate yet intense pepper taste. The flowers and leaves contain Vitamin C and Iron. The flowers were out of reach but I took a few photos:

Get out there are get looking because there is nothing more wonderful than finding wild food.