The Little Wild Library: Elder: Simple things to do with the plants around you. - Hardcover

Gogerty, Clare

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1446313743 ISBN 13: 9781446313749

Publisher: Verbena, 2025

Synopsis

Introducing The Little Wild Library: Elder – your ultimate guide to foraging, crafting, and creating with the versatile elder tree. From its fragrant elderflowers in the spring to the vibrant elderberries of autumn, this pocket-sized book brings the essence of this glorious plant into your hands all year round. Whether you're a seasoned forager or a curious beginner, this charming guide will teach you how to identify, harvest, and make the most of the elder, offering recipes, crafts, and folklore to enrich your journey.

• Easy-to-Follow Foraging Tips: Learn how to spot the elder among other hedgerow plants, and discover the simple, beginner-friendly steps to harvesting its flowers and berries.

• Seasonal Recipes & Crafts: Enjoy a range of recipes and makes, perfect for any time of year.

• Rich in History & Folklore: Dive into the fascinating myths and legends surrounding the elder, adding a layer of magic to your foraging adventures.

• Compact & Practical: The handy pocket-size makes it easy to take the book out on your foraging expeditions.

Whether you're stepping into the world of foraging for the first time or looking for new ways to enjoy the elder tree, The Little Wild Library: Elder is the perfect companion. With detailed botanical information and delightful seasonal projects, this guide will inspire you to explore the bounty of the natural world all year long.

About this title

About the Author

Clare Gogerty lives on a smallholding in deepest Herefordshire which she is opening as a spiritual retreat in 2023. The sound of shamanic drumming often comes from her orchard, and herbal remedies are frequently cooked up in the kitchen. She has been interested in magic, druidry and folklore since a child, encouraged by her father, an enthusiastic dowser and leyline hunter. A former magazine editor, she is now a freelance journalist and author, writing about spirituality, travel, homes and gardens

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The English summer is bookended by elder; it comes into frothy bloom at the start and is sprinkled with bright berries at the end. Elder’s widespread abundance – you are never far from an elder tree or shrub even in a city – and the multitude of uses of both flowers and fruit, make it one of the forager’s go-to plants.

One of the reasons for elder’s profusion is that it grows quickly and roots easily – two essential elements of a hedging plant. It was widely used as hedging in the 18th century because of this but went out of favour subsequently, and many trees were dug up and replaced. It is nothing if not resilient, however, and found other places to establish and flourish, helped by birds feasting on the berries and scattering seeds about.

Elder has many culinary and medicinal uses, along with other more surprising ones. During the medieval period, its hollow stems (with the pith removed) were used to blow into a fire to encourage flames. Its English name reflects this; it is rooted in the Anglo-Saxon word aeld which meant ‘fire’, or eldrun which meant furnace (because it burns so quickly, however, elder makes poor fuel).

Its genus name, Sambucus, is a nod to the other use of the hollow stems. It refers to the Greco-Roman musical instrument the sambuca, which was made from the wood. Pliny the Elder (23–79ce), a Roman author and naturalist, called it the ‘pipe tree’ because of the many fifes, trumpets, and other wind instruments that were made from it.

Edition details

• Publisher: Verbena
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1446313743
• ISBN 13: 9781446313749
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 112