There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles over hedgerows and woodland edges in early spring. Before the canopy fills in. Before everything gets loud.
In the South East, with its chalk downland, damp woodlands, old estates, railway verges, forgotten churchyards, the margins are full of small, useful things.
If you look closely.
Below are the plants and fungi that shape our Bittercress West Coast IPA label; each common, each generous, each worth knowing properly.
Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)
Where to find it (South East):
Cracks in pavements, garden beds, allotments, gravel paths, churchyards. Thrives in disturbed soil and urban corners.
Season:
Late winter into early spring.
Flavour:
Peppery, like watercress with a sharper edge.
Could be confused with:
- Young shepherd’s purse (also edible, but milder)
- Other small brassicas — generally safe, but flavour varies
Traditional uses:
Eaten as a spring tonic; the peppery bite was valued after long winters of preserved food.
Recipe idea: Bittercress Butter
Finely chop and fold into salted butter with lemon zest. Melt over grilled sourdough or new potatoes.
Sticky Weed / Cleavers (Galium aparine)
Where to find it:
Hedgerows, woodland edges, along fences. It climbs over everything and clings to your trousers.
Season:
Early to mid-spring.
Flavour:
Green, mild, slightly cucumber-like when young.
Could be confused with:
Very distinctive — square stem, whorled leaves, tiny hook hairs. Few true lookalikes.
Traditional uses:
- Used as a spring cleanser in herbal medicine
- The seeds were roasted as a coffee substitute
- Historically used as a sieve for milk
Recipe idea: Cleavers & Apple Juice
Blend young tops with green apple and strain. Bright, grassy, refreshing.
Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum)
Where to find it:
Damp woodlands, especially ancient woodland and riverbanks. Often forms carpets.
Season:
March–May.
Flavour:
Fresh, soft garlic.
Could be confused with:
- Lily of the Valley (toxic)
- Lords and Ladies (toxic)
Tip: Crush the leaf. If it doesn’t smell strongly of garlic, don’t eat it.
Traditional uses:
Used in soups and broths as a spring purifier. Associated with bears emerging from hibernation — hence ursinum.
Recipe idea: Wild Garlic Pesto
Blend with hazelnuts, hard cheese, olive oil and lemon. Spoon over grilled asparagus.
Scarlet Elf Cups (Sarcoscypha coccinea)
Where to find them:
Damp woodland, often on rotting sticks or buried wood, especially after rain.
Season:
Late winter to early spring.
Flavour:
Mild; more visual than culinary.
Could be confused with:
Other red cup fungi — most are non-toxic, but always confirm habitat and form.
Traditional uses:
More ornamental than edible. Their bright red cups were once associated with folklore and winter colour in the forest.
Recipe idea: Woodland Garnish
Lightly sauté and place on creamy polenta or mushroom toast — subtle texture, striking colour.
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Where to find it:
Hedgerows everywhere. One of the defining shrubs of the South East countryside.
Season:
Leaves in early spring; blossom in May.
Flavour:
Young leaves are mild and nutty — known as “bread and cheese.”
Could be confused with:
Blackthorn (similar early leaves, but blackthorn flowers before leaves appear). Hawthorn has deeply lobed leaves.
Traditional uses:
- Leaves eaten in spring
- Blossoms used in cordials
- Long history in heart tonics in herbal medicine
- Deeply rooted in May Day traditions
Recipe idea: Hawthorn Leaf & Soft Cheese Flatbread
Chop young leaves into ricotta, spread over warm flatbread with cracked pepper.
Nettles (Urtica dioica)
Where to find them:
Woodland edges, compost heaps, riverbanks, nitrogen-rich soils.
Season:
Best when young in early spring.
Flavour:
Deep green, spinach-like.
Could be confused with:
Dead nettles (harmless, but no sting). True nettles sting before cooking — a good identifier.
Traditional uses:
- Nettles were used for cordage and cloth
- A staple spring soup to replenish iron
- Brewed as beer and tonic
Recipe idea: Classic Nettle Soup
Wilt young tops with onion and potato, blend with stock and finish with cream. Earthy and restorative.
Morel Mushrooms (Morchella species)
Where to find them:
Chalky soils, woodland edges, sometimes near ash or disturbed ground. Rare but magical.
Season:
April–May.
Flavour:
Nutty, rich, deeply savoury.
Could be confused with:
False morels (Gyromitra species) — potentially toxic.
Key ID tip:
True morels are hollow from tip to stem when sliced lengthwise.
Traditional uses:
Highly prized historically; dried for winter cooking and traded in markets.
Recipe idea: Morels on Toast with Brown Butter
Sauté in butter until caramelised, finish with thyme and lemon. Spoon over sourdough.
The Principle
Foraging isn’t about abundance. It’s about relationship.
- Never strip a patch.
- Take from spread-out areas.
- Leave the strongest plants.
- Harvest young growth where appropriate.
- Respect private land and conservation areas.
The South East might look crowded, but the margins still hold quiet abundance.
You just have to slow down.
A Final Word
Only consume wild plants and fungi if you are 100% certain of their identification. Many edible species have toxic lookalikes. When in doubt, leave it out. Consult multiple reliable field guides and, ideally, learn alongside an experienced forager before eating anything wild.
Take only what you need.
Leave the rest to grow.
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