I used to live in the forest on a small mountain but now I live in an old green city. It is the oldest city in my province full of beautiful Victorians, but it is also prime territory for urban foraging. Everyone takes care of their homes and has lush gardens full of towering, girthy old trees. All these old houses in a small space means it is full of back alleys. They were just dirt once, today still teeming with weeds and garden escapees. I love foraging in back alleys; the plants there nary see a car or chemical spray, they are always covered in honey bees and butterflies, and they are free.
I walk a short ways down the alley behind my home and I can see wild fennel, blackberry, salal, red and white clover, plantain, dock, dandelion, bittercress, borage, comfrey, poisonous foxgloves, roses, chamomile, poppies, mullein, wild lettuce, nipplewort, and so much more. These are not plants in people’s gardens, these are weeds and escapees from gardens and the forests via wind and birds, growing up through pavement, clinging to the outsides of fences.
Take my hand, come with me, down the back alley to the cabbage rose tree. Next we will behead the sweet red clovers. We’ll tear at the flowers and pull off their heads, inhale their scent and bless their deaths. Back up the alley past the bursting gardens and weeds, back to the kitchen and the kettle on for tea. I tear apart the clovers and roses and scatters their petals into the pot. Fresh mint too, crushed in the hands, drizzled with honey. Do not measure, throw in handfuls for taste. A quarter of an hour to steep and then you have the most delicious tea to soothe the soul into fragrant sweetness.
What do you find down your back alleys? Are there medicines, are there herbs for delectable teas to soothe the mind and body?
