It’s the gathering time of year. From the garden and beyond I have been collecting a selection of leaves, flowers and berries.
My favourite is collecting wild St Johns wort. Not the larger garden variety but the smaller bushes. You just need a few leaves and flower heads.
Drop these in an oil of your choosing (and this is the fun part) leave them to soak up the August sun in your garden. Give the mixture a swirl every now and then and sieve before bottling.

Over the weeks you will witness the alchemy – the clear oil will turn red! I use this for massaging achy muscles and in the depths of February it is so nice to be reminded of the deep heat of August.
Some people have a reaction to this oil so please just try a tiny bit on your skin first and leave for 24 hours as you would a hair dye tester.

Some plums are ripe for the picking now. We have a tree in the garden but I do know of a few wild ones out there in the Dorset countryside. It’s nice to get a mixture and see if you can learn new varieties. And possibly try to grow new ones from the stones even if you plant them in a secret place in the wild!
Lastly, of course the blackberries are beckoning. Never mind salted caramel, the best flavour is blackberry with a smattering of sea salt and heaps of apple and custard !

Words and pics by Jo Green, a former allotmenteer, forager, amateur herbalist, pickler and jam maker who squeezed her allotment greenery into her tiny garden