Gathering Spring: A Forager’s Invitation
There is a moment each spring when the earth herself seems to exhale.
There is a moment each spring when the earth herself seems to exhale.
Look closely! It’s the first asparagus!
The ground softens, the cold lifts, and a thousand green hands reach up, inviting us back into communion with the wild.
This is the true beginning of the gathering season — not with great fanfare, but with quiet abundance, ready for those who remember how to see.
Foraging is not merely a matter of collecting wild food.
It is a practice of deep listening.
To step into the woods or meadows with an open heart is to be received as kin, not conqueror.
The old knowing stirs in our bones: we are meant to walk lightly, to ask permission, to give thanks.
If you feel the call to begin or deepen your foraging practice this spring, let these thoughts guide you:
Begin with Reverence
Before you harvest a single leaf, take a moment to greet the land.
Notice what birds are singing. Notice how the wind moves. Let yourself belong before you take.
Offer a word of thanks, or a simple breath of gratitude. The plants are alive to your intentions.
Harvest with Humility
Never take more than you need.
Never take the first plant you see.
Never take the last.
Always harvest in a way that leaves the plant strong, able to flourish for seasons to come.
Imagine you are gathering with your great-great-grandchildren at your side.
What would you leave for them?
The Springtime Treasures to Seek
This is the season of tender shoots and gentle medicine.
Here are a few beloved allies to look for now:
Nettles (Urtica dioica):
One of the first and finest greens of spring. Rich in minerals, nettles strengthen the blood and nourish the spirit. Harvest young tops (before flowering) with gloves.
Chickweed (Stellaria media):
Delicate, starry, and full of vitality. Chickweed soothes inflammation and is a cooling, healing green for salads, pestos, or poultices.
Violets (Viola spp.):
Both the heart-shaped leaves and shy purple blossoms are edible. Violets remind us to move gently, to heal grief, to soften into sweetness.
Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata):
An invasive plant with a bright, garlicky bite. Harvest freely (it helps native species) and turn it into lively pestos or condiments.
Ramps (Allium tricoccum):
If you are blessed to find ramps, harvest sparingly. Take only one leaf per plant, leaving the bulb to flourish.
Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale):
Every part of this plant is medicine: leaf, flower, and root. Dandelions remind us of resilience and the brilliance of common things. In my yard, we don’t mow them down..they’re a perfect spring tonic and first food for the bees.
Cleavers (Galium aparine):
A sticky, sprawling lymphatic tonic. Cleavers encourage the body’s vitality to flow again after the stillness of winter.
Safety, Always
Know before you harvest. Many edible plants have poisonous lookalikes. Walk first with a seasoned teacher or a trusted guidebook.
Harvest from clean places. Avoid roadsides, treated lawns, and industrial areas.
Taste slowly. Our bodies remember wild food, but each person is different. Begin with small amounts.
A Taste of Spring:
Dandelion and Chive Blossom Champagne Vinegar
There is a moment in early spring when dandelions scatter gold across the fields and chives send up their green spears, reaching for the light.
This vinegar gathers that moment — a kiss of sunlight, a breath of awakening earth, bottled for your table.
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh dandelion blossoms (unsprayed, gathered with gratitude)
½ cup tender first chive shoots, finely chopped
Champagne vinegar (enough to fully cover the botanicals)
A clean glass jar with a non-metal lid (or use parchment between lid and vinegar)
Instructions:
On a dry, sunny day, harvest your dandelion blossoms once they are fully open. Shake out any tiny visitors, but do not wash unless necessary.
Harvest young, tender chive shoots — the ones still soft and bright green.
Fill a clean glass jar about ¾ full with the dandelion blossoms and chopped chives.
Pour champagne vinegar over the blossoms and chives until completely submerged.
Press down gently to release any air bubbles.
Cover with a non-metal lid or line with parchment.
Label the jar with the date and tuck it into a cool, dark place for 3–4 weeks. Visit it often. Shake gently. Smile at it.
After steeping, strain and bottle your vinegar. It will glow with the soft, wild light of spring.
How to Use:
Splash over tender greens or asparagus
Drizzle into vinaigrettes with olive oil and a touch of honey
Stir into sparkling water for a bright tonic
Offer small bottles as gifts — bottled sunlight and gratitude
(A Little Wisdom: Why Vinegar?)
Vinegar is a wise woman’s tool — a way to draw the minerals and vital forces out of fresh herbs and blossoms.
When you steep plants like dandelions and chives in vinegar, you capture not just their flavors, but their life-force: calcium, potassium, magnesium, and spring’s green fire.
It’s the simplest kind of alchemy: sunlight and rain, transformed by time, patience, and your loving hands.
A Journaling Invitation
“If the land could speak directly to me, what would it say?
What is one way I can honor the gifts of the wild this season — not just by gathering, but by giving back?”
Take your journal along on your first walk among the wild greens.
Let the answers come like the unfolding leaves — slow, surprising, alive.
A Blessing for Those Who Walk the Wild Paths
May your hands be gentle,
your eyes be keen,
your heart be soft as moss underfoot.
May you know the gift of every green thing,
not as a prize to be won,
but as a kinship remembered.
May the land receive you kindly,
and may you return the favor —
with every step,
with every gathering,
with every breath.
A Note of Thanks
Dear Friend,
Thank you for walking these green paths with me today.
It is such a joy to share the gifts of the wild with you — the soft stirrings of spring, the ancient knowing that lives in the land, and the simple rituals that nourish body and spirit.
If this way of gathering — slow, reverent, and full of life — speaks to something inside you, I warmly invite you to join me as a paid subscriber to Forage & Gather.
As a paid member, you’ll receive deeper seasonal teachings: more recipes, more herbal rituals, nourishing practices, and early glimpses into the new adventures I’m creating — including a seasonal coaching circle rooted in food, herbs, and the quiet magic of the turning year.
Your support helps me tend this work with love and care, and it keeps this living wisdom alive for all of us. Thank you for being here. It means more than you know.
Because of you, I am able to keep weaving this ancient, living wisdom into the world — and I can’t wait to share what’s next.
I’m beginning to create a new adventure: a seasonal coaching program rooted in nourishment, resilience, and deep connection to the rhythms of life — a place where food, herbs, and spirit come together to feed not just the body, but the soul.
More to come soon.
Until then — keep gathering, keep growing, keep trusting the green.
With love and gratitude,
Beth