Potmarge

Whenever I explore a place I haven’t been to before, I find it very exciting to see what grows there. It takes a little while to adjust one’s eyes, ears and nose to a novel environment, a bit like walking back indoors from having been in the sun.

Yesterday evening I arrived in my home town Leeuwarden, where I have never foraged before. So I had no idea what to expect this afternoon on my walk around a lovely area called ‘Potmarge’, which is basically a waterway flanked by shrubs, trees and grass. Being The Netherlands, of course there is a cycle route through it as well! First thing I noticed was a massive carpet of wild garlic, enough to supply the city:

It seems that the natural world is a bit further ahead in The Netherlands than it is in the UK. Some trees already had leaves, and the Rosebay Willowherb (another useful edible!) was coming up above the soil. On a tree stump, some remnants of Turkey Tail mushrooms were visible. These can be dried, ground to a powder and used to make tea:

To my delight, in the grass there were some lovely Oxlips. The young leaves can be eaten and apparently are good for relieving insomnia and headaches. Despite suffering from that a bit today, I didn’t pick them as there weren’t very many.

Finally, I came across a wonderful thing: an orchard road in the true sense of the word! In the Potmarge they’ve planted fruit trees (apple, pear and kiwi) along the cycle path, with an explicit notice saying that everyone can eat from this. Foraging brought to you on a plate! I wonder how this works in practice and whether people are considerate of others when picking. I hope so.