In writing A Therapist’s Garden, I wanted to give readers some horticultural therapy activities that they could practice. And in every chapter (or month) I have done that with both a craft and an outing. The ones for March concern food.
Coming out of Winter in New England with enough food used to be critical for survival. So as a craft, I tell readers how to regrow vegetables and as an outing I give some hints on early-season foraging. Here they are:Soil is still unworkable in many places, but tasty snacks can be found outside in the first growth of March. What many of us would call weeds, early settlers and indigenous Americans would call fresh vegetables, which would be particularly welcome at the end of a long Winter.
One of the easiest, and most pervasive, greens to collect in New England is garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), which was first spotted on Long Island, New York, in 1868. Having both medicinal and food properties, the early shoots of garlic mustard are good in a salad as a tasty, tart leaf.
Early violets (Viola sororia) can also be munched on, as well as sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), which becomes rather large and too tart to consider in another month or two, depending upon the weather. Wild garlic, or ramsons (Allium ursinum), and onions (Allium canadense) are tasty accompaniments to salads and can be added to pasta dishes for an added kick. And there is the ubiquitous dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) that can always be found under the melting snow.
