Our native wild ginger is a lovely, low maintenance ground cover perfect for a shady garden. It’s also one of my favorite wild spices.
Sweet Fern, aka Comptonia peregrina
I grew up going to summer camp in the White Mountains of NH, where the dirt roads and trails were bounded by sweet fern. To this day, it’s my madeleine. Whenever I smell sweet fern, I think of Camp Huckins and nine summers on the shores of Lake Ossipee.
Spicebush Berries, aka Lindera Benzoin
I just got back from a recon hike, checking on the wineberries (not quite ready), wood nettles (past their prime), and bee balm (perfect) and I was happy to discover a new stand of spicebush, aka Lindera benzoin, to add to my mental map. I’ve come to depend on spicebush berries in so many recipes. I’d feel culinarily lost if I…
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Garlic Mustard: My Guilty Pleasure
Poor, misunderstood garlic mustard. There are multiple web pages devoted to the eradication of this plant (botanical name = Alliaria petiolata). But despite the fact that it’s an aggressive, invasive weed that crowds out many beloved natives, I can’t bring myself to be upset when I come across a patch of it in the woods. Because although it’s a thug…
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Pickled Daylily Bud Recipe
As I type this, I’m looking out at the daylilies in my garden. These aren’t hybrids or cultivars, but the plain old ditch lilies that grace the sides of so many country roads. These are the daylilies that not only feed the gardener’s soul, but also the forager’s stomach.
