Finding breakfast in the forest garden.
I paused for a moment in my forage for breakfast to watch the first ray of sun wash the mulberry tree in liquid marigold. It reminded me to eat a handful of the just-ripe berries. They tasted like honey. A cheeky robin, berry in beak, scolded me: “What are you doing eating my mulberries?” I said the same to him. We decided to share.
Everything is better that way.
This morning while grazing my way to a full belly, I pulled a few weeds and sewed a few new cilantro seeds to replace the ones that were starting to flower. Forest gardening is about mixing annual veggies into an edible landscape of perennial trees, bushes, and herbs of all kinds. A forest garden is an artwork of many seasons. At first requiring time, patience and careful tending it develops into a generous and abundant playground. Fruits, berries, nuts, leaves and roots all ripening at different times spread across the seasons.
As long as you know where to look there’s always something yummy to be found.
Here’s what’s for breakfast. (p) – denotes a perennial, the great plants that come back year after year and land up taking care of you.
Not necessarily in this order:
- Nanking Cherry – (p)
- Golden Current – (p)
- Goji Berry – (p)
- Mulberry – (p)
- Raspberry – (p)
- Spearmint & peppermint – (p)
- Comfrey – (p)
- Dandelion – greens & flower – (p)
- Sage – (p)
- Sweet oregano – (p)
- Plantain – (p)
- Chives – (p)
- Sweet onion greens – (p)
- Broad beans
- Lettuce – many kinds
- Kale
- Diakon radish pods
- Parsley
