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Camas Prairies
Our local camas prairies were naturally formed about 14,000 years ago after glaciers retreated. Foods, including edible roots and berries, thrived in this open landscape. Eventually, this habitat would have disappeared as trees moved in and created forest. Plants that were dependent on sun and well-drained soil would have disappeared.
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Spring Wild Greens
Ah, to taste the first vibrant flavors of spring. My body sings as I devour tender violet leaves, sweet salmon berry flowers, the delicate new leaves of miners lettuce and chickweed. Many of my plant teachers have taught me that these first spring foods wake our bodies up after a winter diet.
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Dandelion Revisited
It is dandelion time again – our neighborhood is full of those golden orbs of pollen and nectar. On sunny days, my three-year-old daughter is busy picking bouquets, which she proudly arranges on her bedside table. We have been mixing up dandelion flower fritters and...
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Western Red Cedar
No tree is more symbolic of the Pacific Northwest than Western Red Cedar. No wonder that it is called Mother, and Long Life Maker among Salish People, for it has provided clothing, tools, shelter, canoes, medicine and many other things that contributed to a rich culture. ...
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About Elise
Elise Krohn is passionate about her relationship with plants. As an herbalist, native foods specialist, educator, and author, she empowers others in gathering and using wild foods and medicines. Her 22 years of experience includes teaching, clinical practice, developing educational resources, and coordinating community education programs.
Resources
There are many incredible resources out there. This is my own list of favorites that have helped me to dive deeper. I do not believe that you need to know a lot of plants or own piles of books to be a great forager and medicine maker. In-depth knowledge comes from hands-on experience–watching and using plants from season to season, and from year to year.
Harvesting Tips
When I go outside to gather my own food and medicine I am in my element. I am taking in the gifts of my place. It is also a time to give back by tending the plants that sustain me and many other species. Gathering is a basic human act, one we have engaged in for thousands of years, and one that is largely forgotten in our modern world.
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On the bands of the river, I am cloaked in a thicket of willow. Its protective branches...
Alder builds strong community. Seeds fly in the wind and rain down on disturbed soils in...
Douglas fir trees rise like massive pillars toward the sky, their deeply furrowed bark...
The rosemary flowers positively glowed this year. They caught my eye like never before...
We are in the thick of winter. It has been cold and rainy for so many weeks that it...
Yarrow was the first plant I fell in love with. I recall picking bouquets of feathery...
Hawthorn is one of the first plants I gravitate toward when I needed strength,...
I spent a fair bit of my childhood perched high in an old cedar tree. I felt held in...
Our modern palate oscillates between the addictive flavors of salty and sweet, but we...
Horsetail creates strong structure and foundation. Touch its leaves and you will feel...