Elderflower

Right on time the Elder (Sambucus nigra) are coming into flower. Broad umbels of tiny creamy white flowers with a distinctive heady floral scent; soon the hedgerows and woodland fringes will be full to bursting with them.

Elder

I have a funny relationship with the Elder (Sambucus nigra), I love the flowers, love their flavour and have long utilized them along with Elder's powerfully medicinal (and again tasty) berries, though I'm wary of tree itself, aware of it's sanctity. I'm quite superstitious where natures concerned. It's home to the Elder Goddess, a mostly benevolent nature spirit offering blessings through her bountiful gifts, though you must always ask before you take, and folklore tells us that to cut down an Elder or burn it's wood is sure to antagonize her...and you don't want to do that. I don't even like trimming Elder, always offering placations, and never never burning any trimmings. The 'always asking before taking' (and thanking), is something I've long adopted across my foraging practice and has become second nature. It feels only right and proper. It's not just flowers and berries with Elder either, it's been understood since prehistory that all parts of the Elder offer practical uses. Another wonder of natures superstore, or as Naboo on The Mighty Boosh aptly described it...Shamansbury's. 

Elderflowers

Throughout the hedgerows and shrubby woodland clumps indicative of the chalk downland of southern Wiltshire, Elder's are coming into bloom, and it's wonderful. Is there anything more evocative of summers arrival than the pungent aroma and creamy white flower clusters of the Elderflower (Sambucus nigra). I think not.

Elderflower

The Elders are just beginning to come into flower, their Pungent aroma filling the evening air, the hedgerows and the woodland fringes. Such a versatile plant, Elder (Sambucus nigra) is a valued deciduous shrub and like so many much neglected today; the flowers are used to flavour teas, cordials and wine, you can also fry them in batter, whilst their berries* can be used for jam and wine. Various parts of the tree have been used in traditional herbal remedies for colds, coughs, respiratory infections and fevers. I must get some yeast and make a demijohn of wine this season. 

* It's been suggested that the berries can be mildly poisonous when unripe.