Summer Treats

• They say that we shouldn't put anything on our skin that we wouldn't be happy to eat. Although I don't suppose there are many (if any) of us that follow that, you could do worse than try these very quick beauty suggestions from the wild! Collect some mint or pennyroyal, yarrow or camomile for example, and put them in a muslin bag to hang under the hot tap when running the bath. A handful of pine needles can be used the same way, or try soaking yourself in seaweed to really soften your skin. Pour boiling water on a large handful of elderflowers and let them steep overnight, strain and use the liquid as a skin splash. Milk and honey can be used with elderflowers in this way too, producing a gentle smoothing tonic that will cleanse your skin.
• Aching feet can be refreshed by immersing them in a bowl of hot water that has nettles steeping in it (they won't sting you, honestly). Hair can be lightened by infusions of camomile or mullein, reddened by alkanet root or darkened by using ivy berries, and you will get a great shine if you rinse with a jug or two of water that has had goosegrass, horsetail or watercress soaking in it. Unfortunately there isn't one single wild herb that will make us more beautiful instantly (damn it!) but using plants from the wild is far better for us than most of the shampoos, conditioners and cleansers that leave their chemicals on our bodies every single day.

The Pembrokeshire hedgerows have been at their beautiful best for several weeks and bursting with all kinds of edible goodies. But keen gardeners may be spending all their available time trying to keep on top of jobs around their plot. Many of us are driven batty by certain weeds that find their way into our gardens and despite all good practices and almost clinical attention we just can't get rid of them. Why not eat some of these menaces?  

• Chickweed leaves and stems make a delicious vegetable, rinsed then cooked for a few minutes in butter, and Cleavers (Goose Grass), that clingy stuff that children used to stick to the back of school sweaters, is another of them. Make a soup by stripping the leaves off and adding to potato, wild garlic, onions and some stock.
• Use young Dandelion leaves for salads, or make wine with the flowers. The leaves will improve, as all wild salad leaves will, by standing in water overnight and if you cut a Dandelion plant to the ground and cover the crown with an upturned flowerpot the leaves will grow back blanched and less bitter.
• The Romans were responsible for introducing the much-cursed Ground Elder to Britain and it continued to be cultivated into the 18th Century. This is one of the tastiest wild vegetables and can be cooked in a similar way to Chickweed, or Cleavers.
• Elder blossoms festoon the hedgerows now, so don't miss the opportunity to make the most of this versatile small tree. As well as using it to make cordial, 'champagne', fritters, sorbet, ice cream, and fragrant jams, it can be used for hand creams, lotions and dyes. The woody stems can be used for musical instruments, the leaves to keep flies away and no self-respecting witch would be without its powers for charms and spells!