The sun is finally out and the weather is slowly warming up. It is a life changing and much needed weather shift.
The first thing on my mind are the plants. I’ve already been looking at the young hosta shoots in neighbour’s gardens - although I don’t have the courage to take any, they are edible! Also, day lily tubers can be used like potatoes but again, I’m too scared to dig any up.
Still, this year I promised myself to find more urban edibles. I have been foraging for a long time but never with much focus or intent other than to eat a few things here and there. this year though, I’ve decided I want it to be a real skill / expertise I cultivate with intention. I’m lucky it’s spring and I have the whole growing season to learn and explore.
Although I won’t find ramps or fiddleheads this year - I’ve already learnt quite a bit in an effort to be on top of the season. And since it’s spring - spruce tips. So I need to find a spruce.
Luckily, there is a large cemetery near me that doubles as an arboretum and there are so many varieties of shrubs and trees and most of them are labeled which makes plant ID very easy!
After a short wander on and off the paths, I found the tips! I knew the cemetery would have them. I’m really excited! I thought perhaps I was late in the season to gather them but they are only barely starting to pop. I’ll likely have to wait at least a week or two before they are ready to harvest. I’m glad I can visit again and again over the next few days to talk to the tree and see how it grows. Next I’ll have to decide what to do with them :)
I was actually very lucky on this trip - right around the spruce is a little grouping that must have been part of a yard at one point - the spruce is planted with a beautiful mountain ash, sweet cherry, common apple and a new shrub for me, called spice bush. I’m beyond over joyed to have found this little cluster and am curious how all these plants will fruit over the next few months. I think I will add an inventory of plants I find to keep track of them here on this blog.