Elderflower has a fresh light taste and is great for making into cordial.

From mid June, the frothy cream flower heads of the Elder are blooming in hedgerows and gardens.

Elder Flowers in June

A good way to enjoy the summery taste of elderflower is to make a cordial which can be mixed with ice and water for a refreshing summer drink or a touch of gin if you want an alcoholic version.

Elderflower cordial also an excellent light syrup to pour over ice cream and blends well to bring out the flavour of gooseberries.

To make elderflower cordial.

We scoured the internet for recipes similar to the one gran made years ago and the favourite was Fiona’s Traditonal Elderflower Cordial from the Cottage smallholder.

This recipe gives a greater intensity of flavour as it uses more flower heads than most people suggest and allows the mixture to steep for 48 hours instead of the usually suggested 24.

If anybody has any other ideas for elderflower cordial recipes or uses, then please contact us via the comments section at the end of this article.

Whilst picking Brambles yesterday, I came across something I have not seen for many years….Wild Burnet.

I used to pick these en masse for my father to make wine and here it was growing in the grassland near the hedgerow.

The Wild Burnet or Sanguisorba Officinalis grows to around 1m tall in grassland and on hedgerow banks.

It is generally not easy to see the foliage but the tall wiry stems raise themselves above the vegetation and waft their dark burgundy, (almost brown) rounded flower heads in the breeze.

The leaves can be used in salads and taste mildly of cucumber.

Ancient Chinese Medicine saw the root of this plant employed to treat bleeding, such as nosebleeds and dysentry.  And when applied to the skin is used in the treatment of insect bites and burns.

Although the leaves were used in salads and sandwiches, it was only the bitter, peppery flower heads that we used to collect for the wine.  This had the advantage of making the plant grow bushier and therefore more flowers were available the following year.

I will have to ask my dad to hunt out the wine recipe.  The only thing I can remember about making it is fighting hundreds of wasps due to the copious amounts of honey in the mix.  As my husband said, it is probably more of a mead than a wine but the net result was incredibly good.

Perhaps you have different uses for it, if so, please let us know.