April Foraging Guide- Introduction
- victoria ward
- Mar 31
- 2 min read
April Foraging Guide
Fertility, Growth & Light
The clocks have changed and Easter is almost upon us, April is a month of fertility, growth and increasing light. The bees are foraging, ladybirds and butterflies emerge and flowers come and go at an alarming speed. Sometimes I wish I could hit pause as the spring blossoms appear and fall with an intense yet fleeting flourish.
There are now many plants, many shades of green, all quickly growing and developing flowers to draw the pollinators and fulfill their reproductive duties. April is a month of growth, fertility and harnessing that potent peak spring energy as we approach the month of May, the transition to Summer and the joyous celebrations of Beltane.
Some plant actions are still focused on detoxifying, clearing congestion and moving lymphatic fluid particularly Ground Ivy and the Alliums now beginning to flower including Wild Garlic and Three-cornered Leek. The Three-cornered Leeks are embellished with pretty white flowers and the Wild Garlic has flower buds ready to open.
Gut health is always important for me as it underpins the functioning of all the body systems and should be continuously fuelled with foods that provide prebotic fibre and help the 'good' bacteria thrive. Hop shoots are an ideal plant to consume for gut health support offering both excellent prebiotic fibre and an antibacterial action that helps reduce harmful species in the microbiome.
Easter flowers are decorating our grasslands including Daisies and Cowslips, both have many medicinal properties which I will cover in this month's foraging guide.
Cherry blossom has erupted in gardens and on the many Wild Cherry trees we have here and it's so delicately beautiful. In Japan the cherry blossoms are called Sakura and have a deep cultural significance symbolising hope, renewal and the fleeting beauty of life. In this month's guide I decided to focus a little on Sakura through the lens of our own native Wild Cherry Prunus avium
With Beltane fast approaching on 1st May, I am drawn towards matters of the heart and looking at Hawthorn, that most heart-centred of native plants. Hawthorn is now displaying bunches of flowerbuds which will no doubt open before their traditional flowering point of Beltane. Blossoms feature heavily in the Beltane celebrations and represent fertility, love and of course, reproduction. Later in the month I shall be looking more closely at Beltane and the ways in which we can celebrate this glorious mark in the calendar and the joyous energy it encapsulates.
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