July is the beginning of school holidays and as a young girl it was always the time we spend in the countryside with my great-grandmother, who taught us how to forage, what to look for and how to use everything we gathered during the day.
I remember endless days of learning mushroom names, collecting herbs and then drying them for winter. The whole length of our farmhouse attic was covered with papers and drying plants and herbs. The smell was amazing and turning over the herbs to make sure they dry properly. I would also hide there to read books!
Depending on where you are in the world and the local weather, your July foraging finds can easily overlap with June and August.
Yarrow
I use yarrow mainly for making tea in the winter, but it can be also eaten fresh and added to salads or infuse oils. Yarrow has white or slightly pink flowers, which are in full bloom in June, July or August. You can find yarrow in any meadow and you should be able to recognise it by it’s distinctive leaves which look a little bit like a double sided comb or a ladder.
The plant has healing properties and can be used to calm down a fever, common cold, hay fever, diarrhoea, loss of appetite or to help with digestive problems. You can also try to chew the fresh leaves to relieve a mild toothache.
What to pick
- Flowers (July)
- Leaves (March-Sept)
notes
The plant can be used as a herb
how to use
- Flowers (July) dry & use in the winter for tea
- Leaves (March-Sept) add to salads, stews or make flavoured oils
Recipes
- To dry yarrow, pick flowers with stems (approx 20 cm) and hand upside down on a string somewhere inside in a shade. Leave to dry for few days, then cut off the stem and keep in a paper bag.
wild strawberries
There is no need to introduce these little beauties! If you can recognise a normal, garden or supermarket strawberry you can recognise these wild strawberries.
The only thing is that wild strawberries are much smaller (think your little fingernail size!).
But what they don’t have in size, they make up in flavour. If you ever bought a supermarket strawberries and they tasted like a water, you’ll be absolutely amazed at the intensity of wild strawberries flavour.
You’ll find wild strawberries in the meadows, sides of fields, beginning of any forest or grassy banks of countryside roads.
What to pick
- The red fruits (July-August)
- Leaves for tea (any time of the year – March – October approx)
notes
how to use
Eat straightaway or use as a topping for breakfast granola or yogurt.
Use leaves to make a tea. Pour boiling water over few fresh leaves and leave to infuse. Add few fresh strawberries to add to the flavour. You can also collect leaves to dry and use in the winter.
Recipes
Chanterelle Mushrooms
These are one of the easier mushrooms to identify as there are no other types of mushrooms that look similar and could be confused with chanterelle mushrooms. Even our great-grandmother was happy for us to pick them, when we were only about six years old. We used to called them ‘foxes’ probably because of the golden rusty colour.
You’ll find chanterelle mushrooms in the undergrowth in mixed trees forests. They are easily spotted as there is usually a cluster of them growing together. They are quite small and most are no more than an inch tall.
Make sure that you use a sharp pocket knife to cut these above the ground and leave the roots in the soil. This ensures that the mushrooms will carry on growing. Cook them, dry them or pickle them on the same day.
What to pick
- The whole mushroom above the ground
notes
Best eaten fresh on the same day. Can be picked any time from July to mid winter.
how to use
Use like any other mushroom – add to any recipe with mushrooms in, make an omelette or add to stews. Cut in thin slices and dry on a paper to keep for winter.
Recipes
wood sorrel
This is one of my favourite plants to munch on when I’m walking through a woodland. Grows in established parts of (usually) coniferous forests and you’ll usually find wood sorrel around any tree or growing over an old wood tree trunk.
There is usually a carpet of these around the base of the trees. Most of the year you’ll only see the leaves, but in July you’ll be greeted with little white flowers. All parts are edible, but be careful excessive amount of sorrel are poisonous.
The taste is very refreshing, it’s like a juicy lemony taste with a tangy aftertaste.
What to pick
- Flowers, leaves & stalk (January – December)
notes
Flowers in July, but leaves/stalks can be picked all year round
how to use
Eat straightaway, add to fresh salads or use as a garnish.
Recipes
Mallow
The mallow plant, specifically the common mallow (Malva sylvestris), is a perennial herb, that has round, lobed leaves and charming pink to purple five-petaled flowers. This plant is widespread and often found in fields, roadsides, and cultivated lands. Both the leaves and flowers are edible, with young, tender leaves being ideal for salads or cooked dishes and you can also make mallow tea.
Mallow has a high mucilage content, offering soothing properties that have traditionally been used to treat coughs and digestive issues. Harvested in the spring and early summer for optimal freshness, mallow leaves and flowers can be stored in the refrigerator for short-term use or dried for long-term storage.
Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) is a fragrant, perennial herb found in damp meadows, riverbanks, and moist woodlands, where it thrives in the rich, acidic soil. Foraging for meadowsweet is best done in late spring to midsummer when the plant is in full bloom with its creamy-white, aromatic flowers.
Traditionally, meadowsweet has been used for its medicinal properties; it’s known for treating gastric complaints and headaches thanks to its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving salicylic acid content. The flowers and leaves can be used to make a pleasant tea, infused into wine as an aperitif, or added to jams and desserts for a subtle almond flavour.
Dead Nettle
Dead nettle, the purple dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) or the white dead nettle grows pretty much anywhere and is abundant in fields, gardens, and along hedgerows. This easily recognizable plant, with its purple-tinged leaves and small, pinkish-purple or white flowers, is entirely edible and offers a mild, slightly sweet flavour.
Purple or white dead nettle can be eaten fresh in salads, incorporated into pestos, or cooked like spinach as a nutritious green. I also collect the flowers and dry them on a paper in the shade and then use them for making herbal tea in the winter.
Wild Raspberry & Leaves
Wild raspberries, look very similar to their garden variety, but they are usually much smaller. Their flavour is a lot stronger and you can find them at the edges of forests, along the edges of fields, and in overgrown meadow areas during the summer months.
Raspberries are not only delicious, eaten fresh or in a variety of desserts, but they are also packed with vitamins, minerals, and fibre, making them a nutritious addition to any diet.
You can use wild raspberries in exactly the same way as garden raspberries and make them into jams, syrups, smoothies, pies or other deserts. You can also collect raspberry leaves, dry them and then use them to make raspberry tea.
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Bilberries
Bilberry, or Vaccinium myrtillus, is a small, dark blue fruit, similar in appearance to the blueberry, which is high in antioxidants and vitamin C. Bilberries can be found in the wild in Europe and North America, thriving in acidic, nutrient-poor soils in forests and mountainous regions. They are harvested in late summer and can be eaten fresh, or used in jams and pies.
Chamomile Flowers
There are two common types of chamomile: German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) and they are both edible.
Chamomile grows in well-drained soil with plenty of sunshine and is often found in gardens, fields, and along roadsides. It is native to Europe and Western Asia but has been widely naturalized in North America and Australia.
The plant has daisy-like flowers with white petals circling a yellow disc, which bloom throughout the summer months.
I normally use chamomile flowers to make a soothing herbal tea, which is perfect before bedtime. The flowers can also be used to flavour desserts, or as a garnish for cakes or summer salads.
Chamomile has a calming effect and is commonly used as a natural remedy for anxiety and sleep problems. It also has anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties, which may help with digestive issues such as upset stomach, gas, and diarrhea.
Chamomile has been used to alleviate menstrual pain and muscle spasms and it’s also used topically for skin conditions and to promote wound healing.
Other plans and herbs in season in July include:
Silverweed, Rose Petals, Wild or Forest Strawberries, Gooseberry, Blueberries, Bilberries, St.John’s Wort Flowers, Yarrow, Gorse Flowers, Meadowsweet, Wood Sorrel, Mallow, Chickweed, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Blackberry Leaves, Brooklime, Cep, Chamomile Flowers, Chicken of the Woods, Cleavers, Common Comfrey, Poppy, Dead Nettle, Fat Hen, Field Mushroom, Rose, Garlic Mustard, Ground Elder, Honeysuckle flowers, Wild Horseradish, Lime Blossom, Milk Thistle, Nettle, Wild Raspberry & Raspberry leaves, Red Clover, Mint, Spearmint, Sweet Cicely, Wild Chicory Flowers, Wild Cabbage, Wild Cherries, Wild Fennel, Wild Marjoram, Wild Thyme.
Monthly wild food calendar
This blog post was originally written on 27 June 2020 and last updated on 13 February 2024.
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