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By Kim Walker
The Flower Moon falls in May around the festival of Beltane, celebrating the coming of the sun, the element of fire and with it, creativity, fertility, and passion. It falls when nature is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, out of the darkness of the colder months into the light of spring and looking towards the summer ahead. Light a red candle and set intentions for the coming months, The May 5th full moon is in the sign of Scorpio and coincides with a lunar eclipse, asking that we face ancestral shadows and heal the wounds of the past, the mother and sexuality.
The sun, the moon and the stars: one plant encompasses the mall. The golden, bobbing, buttery head of a dandelion turns into a silvery moon globe, then, puff, a breath of wind and the stars scatter far and wide to start the cycle all over again. Dandelions are part of the Asteraceae family of plants. This is a group that are gathered together by their relationship and common features. Relatives include daisy, chamomile and feverfew. Take a dandelion (or any other aster family) and hold it up. How many flowers do you think you are holding? You’d be forgiven if you think it was one. But in fact, each ‘petal’ you see is its own flower, evolved in community-fashion with its other flower siblings to cooperate and appear as one. This is so that a visiting bee can pollinate them all at once. Once fertilised, each flower develops into its own little parachute seed.
There are many dandelion-like flowers in this family, so it is important to ‘get your eye in’ to the lions-mane yellow head combined with its jaggedy leaves (the teeth of the lion, hence its name from the french dent-de-lion) and the hollow stem that bleeds a white milky juice.
At their peak during the May moon, the merry blooms of dandelion carpet waysides, meadows and lawns, causing frustration to garden purists. However, monoculture grass lawns are thankfully a fading fashion, with more and more people embracing their weedy flowers. One of the early signallers of spring, it is an important early nectar provider for pollinators, and provides many gifts for the forager. Here are dandelions, five ways:
1. Dandy Sap Tattoos
Snap off a flowering dandelion stem and draw a pattern on your skin with its sap. Allow to dry and within a few hours it will have turned a dark brown, almost henna-style. It will completely wash off once needed. Suited to paler parts of skin, patch test for allergies.
2. Bitter Leaf Salad
Dandelion leaves have been traditionally used in herbal medicine as a potassium-rich diuretic and to support kidney function. However, young dandelion leaves can also provide a refreshing, bitter bite to mixed salads. If you have one in your garden and place a large plant pot over the top, you can ‘force’ the dandelions to make paler, milder tasting stems, sold for premium cash at top restaurants. Pair with walnuts, honey and blue cheese.Harvest in spring or early summer.
3. Caffeine-Free Coffee
Best harvested before the flowering stage. Used in times of coffee shortage, this bitter, nutty flavoured coffee does not pack a punch, but can be helpful for those wanting to quit caffeine. Dig up the roots carefully with a trowel, following the deep taproot down. Wash and remove any stringy side roots. Slice into rings and gently roast in a low oven (200F/100c) until golden brown. Once cool, store in an airtight jar for up to a year. To use, grind and simmer 1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Strain, add dairy/alternatives and sugar/honey to taste. Please note, it is illegal in the UK to uproot plants from public land, so use your own garden-grown ones, or ask to help weed a friend’s garden or allotment. The dried, unroasted roots also make a handy herbal medicine - you can simmer a teaspoon gently in a cup of water for indigestion and constipation.
4. Golden Honeysyrup
This simple syrup is made with the petals of a dandelion which imbue a honey-like colour and sweet flavour.
On a dry, sunny day, pick open flowers. Pull the petals from the flower head - avoid the bitter, green centre and ‘landing pad’. Take 4 cups of petals, 4 cups of water, and 4 small orange or lemon slices. Simmer together gently for 30 mins. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit overnight. The next morning, strain and measure how much liquid you have left over. For every 10ml of liquid, you will need 5-10g of sugar. E.g., if you have 200ml of liquid, measure 100-200g sugar. Place them together in a pan, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and leave in the pan, uncovered, for about 1 hour until a runny honey consistency is gained. Pour into small, sterilised jars with a label. Store in cool dark place. This will last up to 6 months (less if you used less sugar), or in the freezer for longer.
5. May Moon Dandelion Pom-Pom Bunting
To celebrate the May flower moon, take some closed whitedandelion seed heads and some needle and thread. Thread the flowers facing thesame way on the thread, with about 6 to 12 inches between each. Hang up. As thesedry, the heads will transform into little dandelion-clock ‘moons’, transient,lasting just a few days before they start to blow away.
The Flower Moon falls in May around the festival of Beltane, celebrating the coming of the sun, the element of fire and with it, creativity, fertility, and passion. It falls when nature is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, out of the darkness of the colder months into the light of spring and looking towards the summer ahead. Light a red candle and set intentions for the coming months, The May 5th full moon is in the sign of Scorpio and coincides with a lunar eclipse, asking that we face ancestral shadows and heal the wounds of the past, the mother and sexuality.
The sun, the moon and the stars: one plant encompasses the mall. The golden, bobbing, buttery head of a dandelion turns into a silvery moon globe, then, puff, a breath of wind and the stars scatter far and wide to start the cycle all over again. Dandelions are part of the Asteraceae family of plants. This is a group that are gathered together by their relationship and common features. Relatives include daisy, chamomile and feverfew. Take a dandelion (or any other aster family) and hold it up. How many flowers do you think you are holding? You’d be forgiven if you think it was one. But in fact, each ‘petal’ you see is its own flower, evolved in community-fashion with its other flower siblings to cooperate and appear as one. This is so that a visiting bee can pollinate them all at once. Once fertilised, each flower develops into its own little parachute seed.
There are many dandelion-like flowers in this family, so it is important to ‘get your eye in’ to the lions-mane yellow head combined with its jaggedy leaves (the teeth of the lion, hence its name from the french dent-de-lion) and the hollow stem that bleeds a white milky juice.
At their peak during the May moon, the merry blooms of dandelion carpet waysides, meadows and lawns, causing frustration to garden purists. However, monoculture grass lawns are thankfully a fading fashion, with more and more people embracing their weedy flowers. One of the early signallers of spring, it is an important early nectar provider for pollinators, and provides many gifts for the forager. Here are dandelions, five ways:
1. Dandy Sap Tattoos
Snap off a flowering dandelion stem and draw a pattern on your skin with its sap. Allow to dry and within a few hours it will have turned a dark brown, almost henna-style. It will completely wash off once needed. Suited to paler parts of skin, patch test for allergies.
2. Bitter Leaf Salad
Dandelion leaves have been traditionally used in herbal medicine as a potassium-rich diuretic and to support kidney function. However, young dandelion leaves can also provide a refreshing, bitter bite to mixed salads. If you have one in your garden and place a large plant pot over the top, you can ‘force’ the dandelions to make paler, milder tasting stems, sold for premium cash at top restaurants. Pair with walnuts, honey and blue cheese.Harvest in spring or early summer.
3. Caffeine-Free Coffee
Best harvested before the flowering stage. Used in times of coffee shortage, this bitter, nutty flavoured coffee does not pack a punch, but can be helpful for those wanting to quit caffeine. Dig up the roots carefully with a trowel, following the deep taproot down. Wash and remove any stringy side roots. Slice into rings and gently roast in a low oven (200F/100c) until golden brown. Once cool, store in an airtight jar for up to a year. To use, grind and simmer 1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Strain, add dairy/alternatives and sugar/honey to taste. Please note, it is illegal in the UK to uproot plants from public land, so use your own garden-grown ones, or ask to help weed a friend’s garden or allotment. The dried, unroasted roots also make a handy herbal medicine - you can simmer a teaspoon gently in a cup of water for indigestion and constipation.
4. Golden Honeysyrup
This simple syrup is made with the petals of a dandelion which imbue a honey-like colour and sweet flavour.
On a dry, sunny day, pick open flowers. Pull the petals from the flower head - avoid the bitter, green centre and ‘landing pad’. Take 4 cups of petals, 4 cups of water, and 4 small orange or lemon slices. Simmer together gently for 30 mins. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit overnight. The next morning, strain and measure how much liquid you have left over. For every 10ml of liquid, you will need 5-10g of sugar. E.g., if you have 200ml of liquid, measure 100-200g sugar. Place them together in a pan, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and leave in the pan, uncovered, for about 1 hour until a runny honey consistency is gained. Pour into small, sterilised jars with a label. Store in cool dark place. This will last up to 6 months (less if you used less sugar), or in the freezer for longer.
5. May Moon Dandelion Pom-Pom Bunting
To celebrate the May flower moon, take some closed whitedandelion seed heads and some needle and thread. Thread the flowers facing thesame way on the thread, with about 6 to 12 inches between each. Hang up. As thesedry, the heads will transform into little dandelion-clock ‘moons’, transient,lasting just a few days before they start to blow away.
Kim Walker is a medical herbalist, academic researcher a tKew Gardens and educator. She is the co-founder of The Handmade Apothecary and author of numerous books on herbalism and wildcrafting.
By Kim Walker
The Flower Moon falls in May around the festival of Beltane, celebrating the coming of the sun, the element of fire and with it, creativity, fertility, and passion. It falls when nature is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, out of the darkness of the colder months into the light of spring and looking towards the summer ahead. Light a red candle and set intentions for the coming months, The May 5th full moon is in the sign of Scorpio and coincides with a lunar eclipse, asking that we face ancestral shadows and heal the wounds of the past, the mother and sexuality.
The sun, the moon and the stars: one plant encompasses the mall. The golden, bobbing, buttery head of a dandelion turns into a silvery moon globe, then, puff, a breath of wind and the stars scatter far and wide to start the cycle all over again. Dandelions are part of the Asteraceae family of plants. This is a group that are gathered together by their relationship and common features. Relatives include daisy, chamomile and feverfew. Take a dandelion (or any other aster family) and hold it up. How many flowers do you think you are holding? You’d be forgiven if you think it was one. But in fact, each ‘petal’ you see is its own flower, evolved in community-fashion with its other flower siblings to cooperate and appear as one. This is so that a visiting bee can pollinate them all at once. Once fertilised, each flower develops into its own little parachute seed.
There are many dandelion-like flowers in this family, so it is important to ‘get your eye in’ to the lions-mane yellow head combined with its jaggedy leaves (the teeth of the lion, hence its name from the french dent-de-lion) and the hollow stem that bleeds a white milky juice.
At their peak during the May moon, the merry blooms of dandelion carpet waysides, meadows and lawns, causing frustration to garden purists. However, monoculture grass lawns are thankfully a fading fashion, with more and more people embracing their weedy flowers. One of the early signallers of spring, it is an important early nectar provider for pollinators, and provides many gifts for the forager. Here are dandelions, five ways:
1. Dandy Sap Tattoos
Snap off a flowering dandelion stem and draw a pattern on your skin with its sap. Allow to dry and within a few hours it will have turned a dark brown, almost henna-style. It will completely wash off once needed. Suited to paler parts of skin, patch test for allergies.
2. Bitter Leaf Salad
Dandelion leaves have been traditionally used in herbal medicine as a potassium-rich diuretic and to support kidney function. However, young dandelion leaves can also provide a refreshing, bitter bite to mixed salads. If you have one in your garden and place a large plant pot over the top, you can ‘force’ the dandelions to make paler, milder tasting stems, sold for premium cash at top restaurants. Pair with walnuts, honey and blue cheese.Harvest in spring or early summer.
3. Caffeine-Free Coffee
Best harvested before the flowering stage. Used in times of coffee shortage, this bitter, nutty flavoured coffee does not pack a punch, but can be helpful for those wanting to quit caffeine. Dig up the roots carefully with a trowel, following the deep taproot down. Wash and remove any stringy side roots. Slice into rings and gently roast in a low oven (200F/100c) until golden brown. Once cool, store in an airtight jar for up to a year. To use, grind and simmer 1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Strain, add dairy/alternatives and sugar/honey to taste. Please note, it is illegal in the UK to uproot plants from public land, so use your own garden-grown ones, or ask to help weed a friend’s garden or allotment. The dried, unroasted roots also make a handy herbal medicine - you can simmer a teaspoon gently in a cup of water for indigestion and constipation.
4. Golden Honeysyrup
This simple syrup is made with the petals of a dandelion which imbue a honey-like colour and sweet flavour.
On a dry, sunny day, pick open flowers. Pull the petals from the flower head - avoid the bitter, green centre and ‘landing pad’. Take 4 cups of petals, 4 cups of water, and 4 small orange or lemon slices. Simmer together gently for 30 mins. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit overnight. The next morning, strain and measure how much liquid you have left over. For every 10ml of liquid, you will need 5-10g of sugar. E.g., if you have 200ml of liquid, measure 100-200g sugar. Place them together in a pan, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and leave in the pan, uncovered, for about 1 hour until a runny honey consistency is gained. Pour into small, sterilised jars with a label. Store in cool dark place. This will last up to 6 months (less if you used less sugar), or in the freezer for longer.
5. May Moon Dandelion Pom-Pom Bunting
To celebrate the May flower moon, take some closed whitedandelion seed heads and some needle and thread. Thread the flowers facing thesame way on the thread, with about 6 to 12 inches between each. Hang up. As thesedry, the heads will transform into little dandelion-clock ‘moons’, transient,lasting just a few days before they start to blow away.
The Flower Moon falls in May around the festival of Beltane, celebrating the coming of the sun, the element of fire and with it, creativity, fertility, and passion. It falls when nature is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, out of the darkness of the colder months into the light of spring and looking towards the summer ahead. Light a red candle and set intentions for the coming months, The May 5th full moon is in the sign of Scorpio and coincides with a lunar eclipse, asking that we face ancestral shadows and heal the wounds of the past, the mother and sexuality.
The sun, the moon and the stars: one plant encompasses the mall. The golden, bobbing, buttery head of a dandelion turns into a silvery moon globe, then, puff, a breath of wind and the stars scatter far and wide to start the cycle all over again. Dandelions are part of the Asteraceae family of plants. This is a group that are gathered together by their relationship and common features. Relatives include daisy, chamomile and feverfew. Take a dandelion (or any other aster family) and hold it up. How many flowers do you think you are holding? You’d be forgiven if you think it was one. But in fact, each ‘petal’ you see is its own flower, evolved in community-fashion with its other flower siblings to cooperate and appear as one. This is so that a visiting bee can pollinate them all at once. Once fertilised, each flower develops into its own little parachute seed.
There are many dandelion-like flowers in this family, so it is important to ‘get your eye in’ to the lions-mane yellow head combined with its jaggedy leaves (the teeth of the lion, hence its name from the french dent-de-lion) and the hollow stem that bleeds a white milky juice.
At their peak during the May moon, the merry blooms of dandelion carpet waysides, meadows and lawns, causing frustration to garden purists. However, monoculture grass lawns are thankfully a fading fashion, with more and more people embracing their weedy flowers. One of the early signallers of spring, it is an important early nectar provider for pollinators, and provides many gifts for the forager. Here are dandelions, five ways:
1. Dandy Sap Tattoos
Snap off a flowering dandelion stem and draw a pattern on your skin with its sap. Allow to dry and within a few hours it will have turned a dark brown, almost henna-style. It will completely wash off once needed. Suited to paler parts of skin, patch test for allergies.
2. Bitter Leaf Salad
Dandelion leaves have been traditionally used in herbal medicine as a potassium-rich diuretic and to support kidney function. However, young dandelion leaves can also provide a refreshing, bitter bite to mixed salads. If you have one in your garden and place a large plant pot over the top, you can ‘force’ the dandelions to make paler, milder tasting stems, sold for premium cash at top restaurants. Pair with walnuts, honey and blue cheese.Harvest in spring or early summer.
3. Caffeine-Free Coffee
Best harvested before the flowering stage. Used in times of coffee shortage, this bitter, nutty flavoured coffee does not pack a punch, but can be helpful for those wanting to quit caffeine. Dig up the roots carefully with a trowel, following the deep taproot down. Wash and remove any stringy side roots. Slice into rings and gently roast in a low oven (200F/100c) until golden brown. Once cool, store in an airtight jar for up to a year. To use, grind and simmer 1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Strain, add dairy/alternatives and sugar/honey to taste. Please note, it is illegal in the UK to uproot plants from public land, so use your own garden-grown ones, or ask to help weed a friend’s garden or allotment. The dried, unroasted roots also make a handy herbal medicine - you can simmer a teaspoon gently in a cup of water for indigestion and constipation.
4. Golden Honeysyrup
This simple syrup is made with the petals of a dandelion which imbue a honey-like colour and sweet flavour.
On a dry, sunny day, pick open flowers. Pull the petals from the flower head - avoid the bitter, green centre and ‘landing pad’. Take 4 cups of petals, 4 cups of water, and 4 small orange or lemon slices. Simmer together gently for 30 mins. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit overnight. The next morning, strain and measure how much liquid you have left over. For every 10ml of liquid, you will need 5-10g of sugar. E.g., if you have 200ml of liquid, measure 100-200g sugar. Place them together in a pan, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and leave in the pan, uncovered, for about 1 hour until a runny honey consistency is gained. Pour into small, sterilised jars with a label. Store in cool dark place. This will last up to 6 months (less if you used less sugar), or in the freezer for longer.
5. May Moon Dandelion Pom-Pom Bunting
To celebrate the May flower moon, take some closed whitedandelion seed heads and some needle and thread. Thread the flowers facing thesame way on the thread, with about 6 to 12 inches between each. Hang up. As thesedry, the heads will transform into little dandelion-clock ‘moons’, transient,lasting just a few days before they start to blow away.
Kim Walker is a medical herbalist, academic researcher a tKew Gardens and educator. She is the co-founder of The Handmade Apothecary and author of numerous books on herbalism and wildcrafting.
By Kim Walker
The Flower Moon falls in May around the festival of Beltane, celebrating the coming of the sun, the element of fire and with it, creativity, fertility, and passion. It falls when nature is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, out of the darkness of the colder months into the light of spring and looking towards the summer ahead. Light a red candle and set intentions for the coming months, The May 5th full moon is in the sign of Scorpio and coincides with a lunar eclipse, asking that we face ancestral shadows and heal the wounds of the past, the mother and sexuality.
The sun, the moon and the stars: one plant encompasses the mall. The golden, bobbing, buttery head of a dandelion turns into a silvery moon globe, then, puff, a breath of wind and the stars scatter far and wide to start the cycle all over again. Dandelions are part of the Asteraceae family of plants. This is a group that are gathered together by their relationship and common features. Relatives include daisy, chamomile and feverfew. Take a dandelion (or any other aster family) and hold it up. How many flowers do you think you are holding? You’d be forgiven if you think it was one. But in fact, each ‘petal’ you see is its own flower, evolved in community-fashion with its other flower siblings to cooperate and appear as one. This is so that a visiting bee can pollinate them all at once. Once fertilised, each flower develops into its own little parachute seed.
There are many dandelion-like flowers in this family, so it is important to ‘get your eye in’ to the lions-mane yellow head combined with its jaggedy leaves (the teeth of the lion, hence its name from the french dent-de-lion) and the hollow stem that bleeds a white milky juice.
At their peak during the May moon, the merry blooms of dandelion carpet waysides, meadows and lawns, causing frustration to garden purists. However, monoculture grass lawns are thankfully a fading fashion, with more and more people embracing their weedy flowers. One of the early signallers of spring, it is an important early nectar provider for pollinators, and provides many gifts for the forager. Here are dandelions, five ways:
1. Dandy Sap Tattoos
Snap off a flowering dandelion stem and draw a pattern on your skin with its sap. Allow to dry and within a few hours it will have turned a dark brown, almost henna-style. It will completely wash off once needed. Suited to paler parts of skin, patch test for allergies.
2. Bitter Leaf Salad
Dandelion leaves have been traditionally used in herbal medicine as a potassium-rich diuretic and to support kidney function. However, young dandelion leaves can also provide a refreshing, bitter bite to mixed salads. If you have one in your garden and place a large plant pot over the top, you can ‘force’ the dandelions to make paler, milder tasting stems, sold for premium cash at top restaurants. Pair with walnuts, honey and blue cheese.Harvest in spring or early summer.
3. Caffeine-Free Coffee
Best harvested before the flowering stage. Used in times of coffee shortage, this bitter, nutty flavoured coffee does not pack a punch, but can be helpful for those wanting to quit caffeine. Dig up the roots carefully with a trowel, following the deep taproot down. Wash and remove any stringy side roots. Slice into rings and gently roast in a low oven (200F/100c) until golden brown. Once cool, store in an airtight jar for up to a year. To use, grind and simmer 1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Strain, add dairy/alternatives and sugar/honey to taste. Please note, it is illegal in the UK to uproot plants from public land, so use your own garden-grown ones, or ask to help weed a friend’s garden or allotment. The dried, unroasted roots also make a handy herbal medicine - you can simmer a teaspoon gently in a cup of water for indigestion and constipation.
4. Golden Honeysyrup
This simple syrup is made with the petals of a dandelion which imbue a honey-like colour and sweet flavour.
On a dry, sunny day, pick open flowers. Pull the petals from the flower head - avoid the bitter, green centre and ‘landing pad’. Take 4 cups of petals, 4 cups of water, and 4 small orange or lemon slices. Simmer together gently for 30 mins. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit overnight. The next morning, strain and measure how much liquid you have left over. For every 10ml of liquid, you will need 5-10g of sugar. E.g., if you have 200ml of liquid, measure 100-200g sugar. Place them together in a pan, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and leave in the pan, uncovered, for about 1 hour until a runny honey consistency is gained. Pour into small, sterilised jars with a label. Store in cool dark place. This will last up to 6 months (less if you used less sugar), or in the freezer for longer.
5. May Moon Dandelion Pom-Pom Bunting
To celebrate the May flower moon, take some closed whitedandelion seed heads and some needle and thread. Thread the flowers facing thesame way on the thread, with about 6 to 12 inches between each. Hang up. As thesedry, the heads will transform into little dandelion-clock ‘moons’, transient,lasting just a few days before they start to blow away.
The Flower Moon falls in May around the festival of Beltane, celebrating the coming of the sun, the element of fire and with it, creativity, fertility, and passion. It falls when nature is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, out of the darkness of the colder months into the light of spring and looking towards the summer ahead. Light a red candle and set intentions for the coming months, The May 5th full moon is in the sign of Scorpio and coincides with a lunar eclipse, asking that we face ancestral shadows and heal the wounds of the past, the mother and sexuality.
The sun, the moon and the stars: one plant encompasses the mall. The golden, bobbing, buttery head of a dandelion turns into a silvery moon globe, then, puff, a breath of wind and the stars scatter far and wide to start the cycle all over again. Dandelions are part of the Asteraceae family of plants. This is a group that are gathered together by their relationship and common features. Relatives include daisy, chamomile and feverfew. Take a dandelion (or any other aster family) and hold it up. How many flowers do you think you are holding? You’d be forgiven if you think it was one. But in fact, each ‘petal’ you see is its own flower, evolved in community-fashion with its other flower siblings to cooperate and appear as one. This is so that a visiting bee can pollinate them all at once. Once fertilised, each flower develops into its own little parachute seed.
There are many dandelion-like flowers in this family, so it is important to ‘get your eye in’ to the lions-mane yellow head combined with its jaggedy leaves (the teeth of the lion, hence its name from the french dent-de-lion) and the hollow stem that bleeds a white milky juice.
At their peak during the May moon, the merry blooms of dandelion carpet waysides, meadows and lawns, causing frustration to garden purists. However, monoculture grass lawns are thankfully a fading fashion, with more and more people embracing their weedy flowers. One of the early signallers of spring, it is an important early nectar provider for pollinators, and provides many gifts for the forager. Here are dandelions, five ways:
1. Dandy Sap Tattoos
Snap off a flowering dandelion stem and draw a pattern on your skin with its sap. Allow to dry and within a few hours it will have turned a dark brown, almost henna-style. It will completely wash off once needed. Suited to paler parts of skin, patch test for allergies.
2. Bitter Leaf Salad
Dandelion leaves have been traditionally used in herbal medicine as a potassium-rich diuretic and to support kidney function. However, young dandelion leaves can also provide a refreshing, bitter bite to mixed salads. If you have one in your garden and place a large plant pot over the top, you can ‘force’ the dandelions to make paler, milder tasting stems, sold for premium cash at top restaurants. Pair with walnuts, honey and blue cheese.Harvest in spring or early summer.
3. Caffeine-Free Coffee
Best harvested before the flowering stage. Used in times of coffee shortage, this bitter, nutty flavoured coffee does not pack a punch, but can be helpful for those wanting to quit caffeine. Dig up the roots carefully with a trowel, following the deep taproot down. Wash and remove any stringy side roots. Slice into rings and gently roast in a low oven (200F/100c) until golden brown. Once cool, store in an airtight jar for up to a year. To use, grind and simmer 1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Strain, add dairy/alternatives and sugar/honey to taste. Please note, it is illegal in the UK to uproot plants from public land, so use your own garden-grown ones, or ask to help weed a friend’s garden or allotment. The dried, unroasted roots also make a handy herbal medicine - you can simmer a teaspoon gently in a cup of water for indigestion and constipation.
4. Golden Honeysyrup
This simple syrup is made with the petals of a dandelion which imbue a honey-like colour and sweet flavour.
On a dry, sunny day, pick open flowers. Pull the petals from the flower head - avoid the bitter, green centre and ‘landing pad’. Take 4 cups of petals, 4 cups of water, and 4 small orange or lemon slices. Simmer together gently for 30 mins. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit overnight. The next morning, strain and measure how much liquid you have left over. For every 10ml of liquid, you will need 5-10g of sugar. E.g., if you have 200ml of liquid, measure 100-200g sugar. Place them together in a pan, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and leave in the pan, uncovered, for about 1 hour until a runny honey consistency is gained. Pour into small, sterilised jars with a label. Store in cool dark place. This will last up to 6 months (less if you used less sugar), or in the freezer for longer.
5. May Moon Dandelion Pom-Pom Bunting
To celebrate the May flower moon, take some closed whitedandelion seed heads and some needle and thread. Thread the flowers facing thesame way on the thread, with about 6 to 12 inches between each. Hang up. As thesedry, the heads will transform into little dandelion-clock ‘moons’, transient,lasting just a few days before they start to blow away.
Kim Walker is a medical herbalist, academic researcher a tKew Gardens and educator. She is the co-founder of The Handmade Apothecary and author of numerous books on herbalism and wildcrafting.
By Kim Walker
The Flower Moon falls in May around the festival of Beltane, celebrating the coming of the sun, the element of fire and with it, creativity, fertility, and passion. It falls when nature is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, out of the darkness of the colder months into the light of spring and looking towards the summer ahead. Light a red candle and set intentions for the coming months, The May 5th full moon is in the sign of Scorpio and coincides with a lunar eclipse, asking that we face ancestral shadows and heal the wounds of the past, the mother and sexuality.
The sun, the moon and the stars: one plant encompasses the mall. The golden, bobbing, buttery head of a dandelion turns into a silvery moon globe, then, puff, a breath of wind and the stars scatter far and wide to start the cycle all over again. Dandelions are part of the Asteraceae family of plants. This is a group that are gathered together by their relationship and common features. Relatives include daisy, chamomile and feverfew. Take a dandelion (or any other aster family) and hold it up. How many flowers do you think you are holding? You’d be forgiven if you think it was one. But in fact, each ‘petal’ you see is its own flower, evolved in community-fashion with its other flower siblings to cooperate and appear as one. This is so that a visiting bee can pollinate them all at once. Once fertilised, each flower develops into its own little parachute seed.
There are many dandelion-like flowers in this family, so it is important to ‘get your eye in’ to the lions-mane yellow head combined with its jaggedy leaves (the teeth of the lion, hence its name from the french dent-de-lion) and the hollow stem that bleeds a white milky juice.
At their peak during the May moon, the merry blooms of dandelion carpet waysides, meadows and lawns, causing frustration to garden purists. However, monoculture grass lawns are thankfully a fading fashion, with more and more people embracing their weedy flowers. One of the early signallers of spring, it is an important early nectar provider for pollinators, and provides many gifts for the forager. Here are dandelions, five ways:
1. Dandy Sap Tattoos
Snap off a flowering dandelion stem and draw a pattern on your skin with its sap. Allow to dry and within a few hours it will have turned a dark brown, almost henna-style. It will completely wash off once needed. Suited to paler parts of skin, patch test for allergies.
2. Bitter Leaf Salad
Dandelion leaves have been traditionally used in herbal medicine as a potassium-rich diuretic and to support kidney function. However, young dandelion leaves can also provide a refreshing, bitter bite to mixed salads. If you have one in your garden and place a large plant pot over the top, you can ‘force’ the dandelions to make paler, milder tasting stems, sold for premium cash at top restaurants. Pair with walnuts, honey and blue cheese.Harvest in spring or early summer.
3. Caffeine-Free Coffee
Best harvested before the flowering stage. Used in times of coffee shortage, this bitter, nutty flavoured coffee does not pack a punch, but can be helpful for those wanting to quit caffeine. Dig up the roots carefully with a trowel, following the deep taproot down. Wash and remove any stringy side roots. Slice into rings and gently roast in a low oven (200F/100c) until golden brown. Once cool, store in an airtight jar for up to a year. To use, grind and simmer 1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Strain, add dairy/alternatives and sugar/honey to taste. Please note, it is illegal in the UK to uproot plants from public land, so use your own garden-grown ones, or ask to help weed a friend’s garden or allotment. The dried, unroasted roots also make a handy herbal medicine - you can simmer a teaspoon gently in a cup of water for indigestion and constipation.
4. Golden Honeysyrup
This simple syrup is made with the petals of a dandelion which imbue a honey-like colour and sweet flavour.
On a dry, sunny day, pick open flowers. Pull the petals from the flower head - avoid the bitter, green centre and ‘landing pad’. Take 4 cups of petals, 4 cups of water, and 4 small orange or lemon slices. Simmer together gently for 30 mins. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit overnight. The next morning, strain and measure how much liquid you have left over. For every 10ml of liquid, you will need 5-10g of sugar. E.g., if you have 200ml of liquid, measure 100-200g sugar. Place them together in a pan, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and leave in the pan, uncovered, for about 1 hour until a runny honey consistency is gained. Pour into small, sterilised jars with a label. Store in cool dark place. This will last up to 6 months (less if you used less sugar), or in the freezer for longer.
5. May Moon Dandelion Pom-Pom Bunting
To celebrate the May flower moon, take some closed whitedandelion seed heads and some needle and thread. Thread the flowers facing thesame way on the thread, with about 6 to 12 inches between each. Hang up. As thesedry, the heads will transform into little dandelion-clock ‘moons’, transient,lasting just a few days before they start to blow away.
The Flower Moon falls in May around the festival of Beltane, celebrating the coming of the sun, the element of fire and with it, creativity, fertility, and passion. It falls when nature is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, out of the darkness of the colder months into the light of spring and looking towards the summer ahead. Light a red candle and set intentions for the coming months, The May 5th full moon is in the sign of Scorpio and coincides with a lunar eclipse, asking that we face ancestral shadows and heal the wounds of the past, the mother and sexuality.
The sun, the moon and the stars: one plant encompasses the mall. The golden, bobbing, buttery head of a dandelion turns into a silvery moon globe, then, puff, a breath of wind and the stars scatter far and wide to start the cycle all over again. Dandelions are part of the Asteraceae family of plants. This is a group that are gathered together by their relationship and common features. Relatives include daisy, chamomile and feverfew. Take a dandelion (or any other aster family) and hold it up. How many flowers do you think you are holding? You’d be forgiven if you think it was one. But in fact, each ‘petal’ you see is its own flower, evolved in community-fashion with its other flower siblings to cooperate and appear as one. This is so that a visiting bee can pollinate them all at once. Once fertilised, each flower develops into its own little parachute seed.
There are many dandelion-like flowers in this family, so it is important to ‘get your eye in’ to the lions-mane yellow head combined with its jaggedy leaves (the teeth of the lion, hence its name from the french dent-de-lion) and the hollow stem that bleeds a white milky juice.
At their peak during the May moon, the merry blooms of dandelion carpet waysides, meadows and lawns, causing frustration to garden purists. However, monoculture grass lawns are thankfully a fading fashion, with more and more people embracing their weedy flowers. One of the early signallers of spring, it is an important early nectar provider for pollinators, and provides many gifts for the forager. Here are dandelions, five ways:
1. Dandy Sap Tattoos
Snap off a flowering dandelion stem and draw a pattern on your skin with its sap. Allow to dry and within a few hours it will have turned a dark brown, almost henna-style. It will completely wash off once needed. Suited to paler parts of skin, patch test for allergies.
2. Bitter Leaf Salad
Dandelion leaves have been traditionally used in herbal medicine as a potassium-rich diuretic and to support kidney function. However, young dandelion leaves can also provide a refreshing, bitter bite to mixed salads. If you have one in your garden and place a large plant pot over the top, you can ‘force’ the dandelions to make paler, milder tasting stems, sold for premium cash at top restaurants. Pair with walnuts, honey and blue cheese.Harvest in spring or early summer.
3. Caffeine-Free Coffee
Best harvested before the flowering stage. Used in times of coffee shortage, this bitter, nutty flavoured coffee does not pack a punch, but can be helpful for those wanting to quit caffeine. Dig up the roots carefully with a trowel, following the deep taproot down. Wash and remove any stringy side roots. Slice into rings and gently roast in a low oven (200F/100c) until golden brown. Once cool, store in an airtight jar for up to a year. To use, grind and simmer 1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Strain, add dairy/alternatives and sugar/honey to taste. Please note, it is illegal in the UK to uproot plants from public land, so use your own garden-grown ones, or ask to help weed a friend’s garden or allotment. The dried, unroasted roots also make a handy herbal medicine - you can simmer a teaspoon gently in a cup of water for indigestion and constipation.
4. Golden Honeysyrup
This simple syrup is made with the petals of a dandelion which imbue a honey-like colour and sweet flavour.
On a dry, sunny day, pick open flowers. Pull the petals from the flower head - avoid the bitter, green centre and ‘landing pad’. Take 4 cups of petals, 4 cups of water, and 4 small orange or lemon slices. Simmer together gently for 30 mins. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit overnight. The next morning, strain and measure how much liquid you have left over. For every 10ml of liquid, you will need 5-10g of sugar. E.g., if you have 200ml of liquid, measure 100-200g sugar. Place them together in a pan, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and leave in the pan, uncovered, for about 1 hour until a runny honey consistency is gained. Pour into small, sterilised jars with a label. Store in cool dark place. This will last up to 6 months (less if you used less sugar), or in the freezer for longer.
5. May Moon Dandelion Pom-Pom Bunting
To celebrate the May flower moon, take some closed whitedandelion seed heads and some needle and thread. Thread the flowers facing thesame way on the thread, with about 6 to 12 inches between each. Hang up. As thesedry, the heads will transform into little dandelion-clock ‘moons’, transient,lasting just a few days before they start to blow away.
Kim Walker is a medical herbalist, academic researcher a tKew Gardens and educator. She is the co-founder of The Handmade Apothecary and author of numerous books on herbalism and wildcrafting.