Dusty lanes, dogs and the hedgerow harvest
Matt Limb OBE looks forward to the fast-approaching autumn and preparing to make the most of what nature has to offer.
Dusty pathways, dogs at your heels and a bramble or two just beginning to blush. It’s not quite autumn yet, but in the hedgerows you can sense it coming.
Now’s the time to open the cupboards, rinse the demi-john and ready the jars – because the harvest waits for no-one.
August in the countryside is a month of quiet anticipation. The rush of midsummer June and July is over, but while the hay might be safely gathered in and the corn is not yet cut, the mood has shifted. There’s a change in the light, coolness in the early dawn mornings and a quiet stillness in the trees that hints at what’s coming.
Out in the lanes, the hedgerows are stirring. The brambles are beginning to blush with the first signs of true ripening, the elderberries are darkening by the day as the sloes start to swell, still hiding behind their thorns. No, autumn hasn’t arrived, but it’s certainly on the horizon and you can feel it getting closer.
For those who know the countryside, this time of year is full of subtle cues. The blackberries aren’t quite ready, but they’re coming. The hedgerow, after months of providing shelter and shade for songbirds and insects, is shifting into its most generous season.
This brief window of August into the start of September is when those in tune with the land start to get ready. Not rushing out with baskets just yet, but listening, watching, waiting and quietly planning. Above all, preparing.
Because when the harvest comes and trust me, it will, as sure as autumn follows summer, it arrives suddenly and in a flurry. That is not the time to go rummaging in cupboards for dusty jars or to panic-buy jam-sugar from an empty village shop shelf that, surprisingly, sold out last week.
Those who prepare now are the ones who will enjoy the season fully. They will catch the glut, not miss it. They will bottle, preserve, freeze and steep the best of the countryside while others are still rummaging for lids that, with a bit of luck and fingers crossed, may just fit.
Taking stock
Preparation arrives at home, well before the first full basket of fruit. Now is the time to open the cupboard doors and take stock. Are there enough jars? Do the lids fit tightly? Is the preserving pan where you left it last year and is it ready? Or has it been ‘borrowed’ by someone in the past 12 months?
A good demi-john might need a rinse; a funnel might need finding and it’s surprising how elusive a decent roll of muslin or a box of clean jam labels can become once the fruit starts coming in fast.
Some may feel all this is overly fussy – after all, what’s the rush? But anyone who has watched a hedgerow ripen knows how fleeting the moment can be. Blackberries seem to go from hard green to overripe in just days, especially when the sun is strong. Elderberries can vanish to the birds almost overnight. Sloes need picking for the best gin before the blackbirds clean them off entirely. The old wives’ tale says they are better left until they’ve had a frost on them – but will there be any left for such a freezing argument?
By getting ready now, you make the most of what nature offers. You also reduce waste. When you’re not scrambling for jars or wondering how to use 12 pounds of brambles that sat in the bucket for a few days, you can preserve more thoughtfully.
A little order goes a long way: some berries can be frozen for later and others can go straight into the preserving pan. The crab apples you spotted on your dog walk can become jelly tomorrow, not next week when they’ve browned, starting to fall and overnight are converted to windfalls.
And this isn’t just about jam. The recipes for hedgerow produce are as varied as the fruit itself.
Elderberries can become syrup for winter colds or a cordial to mix with fizzy water – or, even better, a winter-warming gin.
Blackberries make crumble, vinegar, wine, jelly and more. Sloes steeped in gin or vodka become the basis for Christmas cheer; though better still if you leave the batch for a year to deepen and mature, ready for the Christmas after this one.
Rowan berries can be mixed with apples to make a sharp, clear jelly perfect for game or cheese. Hawthorn, rosehip, even nettle and crab apple – the countryside offers a menu of preserving possibilities and many of them need surprisingly little effort, but are you ready for them?
Foraging on foot
Of course, the best way to find your hedgerow harvest is still on foot. There is no substitute for walking the field edge, following the line of the old hedge or that favoured dusty track and seeing what grows year after year.
There’s pleasure in the familiarity: the same bramble bush, by that old ash tree, that yields the earliest fruit; the elder tree in the far corner that leans slightly more each year but still bears enough berries to stain your fingers for a week. Soon you begin to map the land not in acres and miles, but in flavours and tastes.
It’s not just you, either. If you have a dog, you’ll know how much they love this season. Gone is the restless heat of July. Now the mornings are cooler, the air carries the scent far better in the damp grass, as every path seems to offer new sniffs and small adventures.
The country dog, whether working or retired, is the perfect partner on these quiet reconnaissance hedgerow walks. While you look up and along the hedge line, eyeing the future harvest, they root through the undergrowth, but always a step ahead and always pleased with themselves.
There’s a companionship in it, not just between you and the dog, but between you and the land. These aren’t hurried and rushed walks. They’re slow, noticing walks. Walks where you stop and take stock, bend and reach and feel the first tug of late summer in your bones.
But let’s not forget the quiet warnings the hedgerow also carries and gives. With its great generosity, there’s still danger hidden amongst the leaves. Never forget, it’s surprisingly easy to mistake woody nightshade for something edible, especially for those new to foraging.
he rule is simple: if you don’t know exactly what it is, don’t pick it and don’t let children pick freely without suitable guidance. The countryside may offer much, but not everything it offers is safe.
Seasons turning
As the season rolls on, those who have prepared will enjoy the best of it. A kitchen already organised makes preserving a joy, not a panic. A clean demi-john ready to go means your sloe gin will be steeping before the cold comes. Washed jars and neatly stacked lids mean nothing is wasted; not the fruit, not the moment and not the feeling of working with the tempo of the countryside.
Because that’s what it comes down to in the end – a rhythm. The slow beat of seasons turning. The familiar actions repeated each year: the first walk, the check of the cupboard, the scalding of jars, the bubbling of fruit in the pan, the final twist of the lid and the satisfying pop as it cools and seals, ready to stand the test of time in the coming winter. But such rituals are more than just practicalities. They are a way of marking time, of staying connected to the land and the lives we live alongside it.
August is the start of that beat. Not in the flashy, obvious way of September’s colour or October’s cold, but in a quieter, steadier sense. It’s the moment before the hedgerow gives up its best and the time to get yourself ready to receive it. To preserve it. To share it. Or simply to enjoy it long after the branches have been stripped bare by autumn winds as the first frosts settle.
So don’t wait. Spend a weekend this month getting things in order. Open the cupboards. Line up the jars.
Walk the paths. Note where the fruit will come and when. If you have a dog, take them along. If not, borrow the attitude of one; curious, content but always glad to be out in the fresh air.
The hedgerow harvest is coming. Let’s make sure we are ready for it – preserving pan and jar to hand.
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Lincolnshire Life Magazine Newsletter 12/25 - mailchi.mp/lincolnshirelife.co.uk/lincolnshire-life-magazine-newsletter-12-25