Is it me or does spring seem late this year? Perhaps its not; I guess that after the winter we have just had it just feels like it is. I must say though it is wonderful to wake up and it be light, after all we are only a few weeks away from the spring equinox. I also love the feel of the sun on my face and the smell of the earth as it warms up on days like today. It almost makes me glad of the winter so that I can look forward to these treats in the early spring. 

Out in the garden all sorts of plants are emerging. All around there are snowdrops under trees, crocuses on the park and even a few daffodils. Whilst I ate my lunch today I spotted a pair of blackbirds, a robin, a wren, bluetits and even a goldfinch feeding on our bird table. A marvellous display until Louis, my cat, appeared to eat his lunch and frightened them all away!

Given that it has been such a glorious day here I also decided to go for a walk and see if I could spot any medicinal plants. I was particularly on the lookout for some Coltsfoot flowers as these are often one of the first herbs to appear. Thankfully I wasn’t disappointed and managed to find a few clumps that have just emerged on some rough ground round the corner. They were really low to the ground with their lovely bright yellow faces directly in the mid-day sun. As you can see from the pictures they have tiny four petaled flowers that make up the central disc which is surrounded by a multitude of silky ray petals. This is characteristic of the Compositae family of plants that include Sunflowers and Dandelions. Their scientific name is Tussilago farfara which is easy to remember when you know its main medicinal use which is as a cough remover – “tuss” refers to cough and “farfara” to far far away!

The other herb that I spotted which was growing in great perfusion down the side of the dual carriage way was Chickweed – Stellaria media. I also spotted some in the park which is where these pictures came from; saved me from getting squished on the side of the road. Chickweed is an ephemeral which means that it can grow from seed to maturity and then dies in the space of weeks not months. It therefore can be found fresh at most times of the year but especially from early spring onwards. Its flowers are tiny with white petals that when open look like little stars, hence Stellaria. It can be used as a salad plant and I have even seen recipes for Chickweed Pesto! However, it is a skin herb that it is used medicinally, often eternally in an oil or ointment to help with the itch of eczema. Looking at these pictures you can almost see how this plant works as its leaves look cooling and moistening, ideal for hot dry itchy conditions.

Anyway as write this the sun has disappeared here in Hulme and grey clouds are rolling in. Hopefully not for too long and as the world warms up again no doubt more signs of spring will emerge. That reminds me I must get on with weeding the allotment!

Here is the first installment of my Marigold Project where over the coming months I am going to show you how to grow, harvest and use Marigolds. In this video I demonstrate how to plant up the seeds to grow in a propagator. Hope you find this helpful, let me know what you think!

Visit my Marigold page to find out more about this beautiful herb and project.