Hawthorn: Simple Things to Do With the Plants Around You. (Little Wild Library) - Hardcover

Gogerty, Clare

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 144631376X ISBN 13: 9781446313763

Verlag: Verbena, 2025

Inhaltsangabe

Introducing The Little Wild Library: Hawthorn – a captivating pocket-sized guide to the magical and practical hawthorn tree. Known for its frothy white blossoms in spring and vibrant red berries in autumn, the hawthorn is a beloved tree that provides shelter, food, and enchantment throughout the year. From the moment its blossoms appear in May, to the fall when its berries brighten the hedgerow, this book reveals how to forage, craft, and cook with this ancient tree, all while uncovering its deep roots in myth and folklore.

• Simple Foraging Guidance: Learn how to identify the hawthorn among its hedgerow companions, with easy-to-follow tips on when and where to forage its flowers and berries.
• Seasonal Recipes & Crafts: Explore beginner-friendly recipes and crafts, from hawthorn jelly to soothing tinctures, perfect for making use of this versatile tree all year round.
• Rich History & Folklore: Discover the fascinating myths surrounding the hawthorn, a tree considered sacred to the Celtic druids.

Whether you're new to foraging or looking to connect with the ancient plants of the hedgerow, The Little Wild Library: Hawthorn is the perfect introduction to this magical tree. With its blend of practical foraging advice, seasonal projects, and enchanting folklore, this guide will inspire you to embrace the hawthorn’s many gifts and explore the natural world around you.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Clare Gogerty lives on a smallholding in deepest Herefordshire which she is opening as a spiritual retreat in 2023. The sound of shamanic drumming often comes from her orchard, and herbal remedies are frequently cooked up in the kitchen. She has been interested in magic, druidry and folklore since a child, encouraged by her father, an enthusiastic dowser and leyline hunter. A former magazine editor, she is now a freelance journalist and author, writing about spirituality, travel, homes and gardens.

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Hawthorn is one of the most recognisable hedgerow plants. It sings out in spring with its froth of pink-white blossom, and in autumn and winter its blood-red haws (berries) shine brilliantly when the rest of the land lies quiet and subdued. It blooms in May (hence its common name ‘May blossom’), covering miles of hedgerows with a snow-like layer and filling the air with a musky, bittersweet fragrance. The opening of the flowers from tight buds to perfect, five-petalled blooms heralds summer. No wonder hawthorn has long been the focus of countless countryside traditions and superstitions. 

There are thought to be up to 1,000 species of hawthorn worldwide, and various species are native to North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The two most common in the UK are Crataegus monogyna (common hawthorn), which is also widely distributed in the US, and Crataegus laevigata (Midland hawthorn) which flowers a little earlier. This book is about the common hawthorn and its uses, many of which apply to other species. 

Millions of common hawthorn were planted as hedging in the UK to enclose small fields following the enclosures of the 18th and 19th centuries. It makes the perfect hedging plant: spiky thorns repel livestock, it grows vigorously, is long-lived (some trees have survived for 400 years), and bounces back happily from the annual savaging by mechanised hedge cutters. This ability to establish quickly and create a useful, impenetrable boundary has earned it the nickname ‘quickthorn’ or ‘quickset’.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Verbena
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2025
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 144631376X
• ISBN 13: 9781446313763
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 128
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar