FIELD NOTES

Wild garlic is one of spring’s most distinctive ingredients, fresh, fragrant, and incredibly versatile. In this guide, we share how to forage it safely and turn it into simple, flavour-packed recipes including pesto, hummus, and a fermented green paste that works with everything from pasta to pizza.

In early spring, the South East softens before it bursts. Along hedgerows and woodland edges, hairy bittercress pushes through gravel, wild garlic carpets damp shade, and nettles rise bright and green. Scarlet elf cups glow against rotting wood, morels hide in chalky soil, and hawthorn leaves unfold quietly along old boundaries. Foraging here isn’t about abundance, it’s about attention. Take only what you need. Leave the rest to grow.