March

If you study or are interested in phenology, March is a key month to notice seasonal variations in plant activity. This is the month that spring officially arrives; around the time of the equinox which occurs between March 20th and 22nd.

Making regular note of rainfall, flowering times and average temperatures are easy methods of recording climatic ranges and different plant performance variations. As we walk along our favourite, regular trails, we love that we can notice – and even document- their intimate changes across the seasons. It’s an exciting and real activity, and rewards the recorder with specific and tangible information. At the end of March we move into summer ‘time’ and the clocks move forward an hour enhancing the evening daylight hours.

It can be particularly interesting during this month to observe regional variances of plant activity. It’s a special time to reunite with favourite wild and home grown herbs as they emerge. We cultivate herbs locally and particularly enjoy sharing these experiences, successes & endeavours.

During March, keep your eye out for familiar members of the woodruff family as they begin to emerge. Galium aparine is a favourite early spring herb known colloquially as ‘cleavers’, ‘sticky willy’ or ‘goose grass’ to mention just a few of its common names. We utilise this herb as a detoxifying spring tonic and lymphatic cleanser.

Others members of the family are ‘madder’ (Rubin tinctoria) the traditional natural dye plant, the bedstraws including our dear ‘lady’s bedstraw’ (Galium verum), yellow flowered and beautifully scented, Sweet woodruff (Galium odorata) the white flowered woodland herb with sweet scented leaves and also Dyers woodruff (Asperula tinctoria) the creeping woodland herb whose roots yield a natural red dye.

Woodland Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina) is beginning to flower, daffodils are abundant and violets are beginning to unfurl their leaves, a precursor for their delightful flower perfume. The earth is warming as the sun strengthens its influence and trees are actively moving from winter dormancy as we tune our ears to the forthcoming hum of rising tree-sap. Primroses and celandine joyfully congregate along ditches, burns and streams.

Look for the stunning coltsfoot flower, this along with the blackthorn blossom is among our first signs of spring and both of these uniquely glorious & medicinal flowers appear before their leaf formation.

On the Suffolk coast gather new shoots of Alexander’s and Red Valerian to gently sauté for a flavoursome fresh herb dish. This is the time of year when the shoots are at their tenderest, and offer a nutritional boost. Crambe maritima, otherwise known as curly sea kale, is our stately shingle inhabiting native coloniser. In March we see the beginnings of its stunning blue-green leaf growth along the coast. An edible spring tonic, and the origins of cultivated kale, the wild colonies are protected plants – important ecological hubs for sustaining local insect populations.