Wild garlic breath

While out walking this week I am so cheered to see the buds coming out on trees at last.  It always seem to take so long for this to happen in Scotland! It is great to get out and explore now it is drier and brighter in the evenings and I've been looking to vary where I go walking both for myself and also to find new toddler friendly walks.

Young wild garlic leave sprouting up

The highlight of spring to me though is when the wild garlic  (allium ursinum) comes out and I can make cheap but incredibly tasty dinner with a Parmesan omelette and wild garlic leave wilted in butter on top. Also known as Ramsons, wild garlic grows in damp woodlands with moist soils, preferring slightly acidic conditions. They flower before deciduous trees leaf in the spring, filling the air with their characteristic garlic-like scent. The stem is triangular in shape and the leaves are similar to those of the lily of the valley.

Wild garlic is edible & can be used as salad, herb, boiled as a vegetable, in soup, or to make pesto. The stems are preserved by salting and eaten as a salad in Russia. The flowers are also tasty too so don't just use as decoration! It is also used as fodder. Cows that have fed on ramsons give milk that tastes slightly of garlic, and butter made from this milk used to be very popular in 19th century Switzerland.  But BE CAREFUL not to mistake wild garlic with Lily of the Valley which is poisonous so make sure rub the leaves to check for the strong garlic aroma!  Don't worry about the smell though, it doesn't seem to stay on your breath according to this research! x

 I'm really lucky that it grows rampantly around these parts so I can pick it up easily on the way home from work or out on one of my favourite walks.  I also found a gorgeous walk along side one of the valley's rivers which is ideal for Baby Wild to learn about the plants and fairies that live there.

Baby Wild captivated by the babbling river

Not sure what these leaves are growing amongst the wild garlic?