Category: Foraging through the Year

After the stillness and inward pull of winter, spring arrives like a quiet exhale. Our bodies, too, begin to shift. Energy rises, digestion awakens, and we naturally crave lighter, fresher foods. In traditional systems of medicine—Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, European folk wisdom—this time of year is seen as a natural cleansing period.

And nature provides exactly what we need: chlorophyll-rich, mineral-dense greens. These plants support liver function, gently detoxify the body, and bring vitality after months of heavier eating or low movement. But their benefits are not only physical. To bend and gather, to watch the bees work alongside you, is also to tend your nervous system.

Foraging becomes a full-bodied practice of presence. It offers calm through movement, rhythm through routine, and connection through touch. This kind of nourishment—alive, immediate, relational—goes beyond calories or nutrients. It reaches into something deeper. Something ancestral.

The Plants — Who to Look For and How to Use Them

Spring greens come in quietly—tender, small, and easy to overlook. But each one carries a long tradition of nourishment and medicine. Below are some of the most common, useful, and generous plants you can meet this season.

1. Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Rich in iron, calcium, and chlorophyll, nettles are a spring powerhouse. Once cooked or dried, their sting disappears. Use like spinach in soups, stews, or omelettes. Dried nettles also make a nourishing tea that supports energy, kidneys, and overall vitality.

2. Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria)
An early and abundant green that tastes slightly like parsley or celery. Excellent raw in salads or added at the end of cooking to retain its bright flavor.

3. Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)
Delicate and aromatic, this plant adds a subtle anise-like flavor to salads, soups, or fresh cheese. It’s best enjoyed raw or barely wilted to preserve its complex notes. For precise recipes check out my free guide on Foraging Chervil Through the Seasons: Recipes for Food, Medicine, and Beauty

4. Cleavers (Galium aparine)
Known for its clinging nature, cleavers help support the lymphatic system. Best infused cold in water for a few hours—its gentle cleansing action works beautifully in spring.

5. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
From leaf to flower to root, every part is edible and beneficial. The leaves are bitter and supportive of digestion; the flowers can be made into syrup or fritters; the roots roasted for a coffee substitute.

6. Violet (Viola odorata)
The leaves and flowers are mild, cooling, and rich in vitamin C. Use them in tea, scatter on salads, or make soothing syrups. Gentle on the heart—emotionally and physically.

7. Daisy (Bellis perennis)
Tiny but mighty, daisies are anti-inflammatory and can be used similarly to arnica. The young leaves and flowers are edible and can be added raw to spring dishes.

8. Wild Strawberry Leaf (Fragaria vesca)
A gentle astringent and tonic, the leaves can be made into a refreshing tea. They’re calming for digestion and rich in minerals.

9. Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
With a scent reminiscent of thyme and mint, this aromatic green supports the lungs and sinuses. Try it dried and used like an Italian seasoning—or fresh, finely chopped, in savory dishes.

10. Plantain (Plantago major/lanceolata)
Not a true green for eating in quantity, but deeply healing. Use fresh leaves to soothe skin irritations, or dry them for teas supporting the lungs and digestion.

11. Wild Garlic and Chives (Allium species)
Their leaves and flowers bring the brightness of spring to any dish. Excellent raw or lightly cooked, rich in sulfur compounds for immune and liver support.

12. Linden and Birch Leaves (Tilia & Betula species)
Young leaves are tender, slightly sweet, and full of vitality. A lovely addition to salads or infusions, they also carry traditional calming and cleansing properties.

Safety, Gratitude, and Gathering with Care

When we harvest wild plants, especially in spring, we are partaking in a gift exchange. Here are some gentle guidelines to keep this relationship rooted in respect and sustainability:

1. Learn each plant well before you harvest.
Many wild plants have look-alikes—some harmless, others dangerous. Always positively identify your finds, preferably with the help of a good guidebook or a local expert. You can visit PFAF.org (Plants For A Future) — a respected, free database with detailed information on the uses and properties of wild edible and medicinal plants.

2. Harvest only what you’ll use.
Take small amounts from each patch to allow the plant to continue growing. Avoid harvesting the first or only flowering plant in a given spot.

3. Choose clean, chemical-free areas.
Avoid roadsides, treated lawns, and places where dogs may roam. Wild food should be as pure as its origin.

4. Give thanks.
There’s no one right way—whether it’s a whispered word, a moment of stillness, or simply the intention to do no harm. Gratitude keeps us grounded and reminds us that we are receiving, not taking.

5. Go slow.
There’s a temptation to pick as much as possible, especially when wild greens feel like such a treasure. But the slower path—pausing to notice the birdsong, the sun on your face, the feel of the soil—will nourish you just as deeply as any tea or meal.

Simple Ways to Begin – Fresh Uses for Fresh Plants

Wild plants can be woven effortlessly into daily rituals, nourishing your body while deepening your connection with the season.

1. Fresh teas and infusions
Tender leaves of nettle, violet, strawberry, plantain, or linden make beautiful spring teas. Pick a small handful, pour over hot (not boiling) water, and steep for 10–15 minutes. The taste is gentle and green—alive with the energy of spring.

2. Cold maceration for delicate herbs
Cleaver prefers cold water. Simply rinse and place in a jar of cool water overnight for a spring lymph tonic that feels like a gentle inner cleanse.

3. Seasonal salads
Add young dandelion leaves, chickweed, violet flowers, wild garlic, and wild chives to your salads. Their bitterness awakens digestion, and their presence on your plate reawakens your senses.

4. Wild green sautés and soups
Try cooking nettle, ground elder, birch and linden leaves or plantain the way you’d use spinach. Sauté with garlic, blend into soups, or mix with eggs for a spring omelette.

5. Herbal seasonings
Dry ground ivy and crumble them into a jar. You’ll have a wild “Italian seasoning” to carry a whisper of spring into the colder months.

6. For the children—or the child within
Make little foraged butter sandwiches with violets and daisies, decorate rice cakes with wild flowers, or blend wild greens into a smoothie. Spring invites a bit of play.

7. Wild Pesto

Did you know you can make pesto from any seasonal greens? A few of my favourites include wild garlic, chervil and nettle, check out The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Pesto: Wild & Foraged Greens for a Nutrient-Packed Twist

The Deeper Healing of Seasonal Foraging

Foraging is more than finding wild food—it is a quiet reunion. With yourself. With the seasons. With a pace of life that listens before it takes.

To walk through the woods or kneel beside a hedgerow is to place yourself into nature’s rhythm. You begin to see that everything has its moment: the soft violet that blooms and fades in weeks, the nettle that rises strong and green just when your body craves rebuilding, the dandelion that asks you to let go and grow deeper roots.

There is medicine in this awareness. In looking at the land not as scenery, but as a living web of nourishment and relationship. And there is something gently transformative about preparing a simple meal or tea from something you gathered with your own hands.

This is not about doing more or adding another “should” to your day. It’s about remembering that you belong to something greater.

Come Closer to the Wild: A Gentle Invitation

If this article stirred something in you—an ache for simplicity, a longing for reconnection, a curiosity about the plants at your feet—I invite you to take the next step. Begin noticing. Start small. Even a single sprig of violet or a fresh nettle leaf can change how you feel in your body and spirit.

To continue exploring, you can visit PFAF.org (Plants For A Future) — a respected, free database with detailed information on the uses and properties of wild edible and medicinal plants.

If this resonated, I’d love to hear from you.
Share your favorite wild spring plant in the comments, forward this article to a friend who’s always dreamed of foraging, or save it for your next walk in nature.

We heal best when we remember we’re not alone.

Read more:

The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Pesto: Wild & Foraged Greens for a Nutrient-Packed Twist

Early Spring Gardening: Fast-Growing Crops & Companion Planting for Thriving Soil

Early Spring Foraging: Edible & Medicinal Plants You Can Find Now