I've dug the first nettle shoots out from under the leaves and I'm impatiently waiting for them to grow big enough to pick. And imagine what a dizzying feeling it is to sit on a late afternoon and watch the sunset when it's actually evening and not early afternoon.

I have fun planning which wild plants I will focus on picking when it turns green. Which ones will I take to fill my veins with chlorophyll and maximize my health for the upcoming season. A favorite is snarlweed and its cousins ​​white snarlweed and yellow snarlweed. The young shoots appear early in the spring and can be picked all season long. Snarlweed is that winding plant that when it grows becomes kind of sticky and has small seeds that stick to clothes – and in dog fur.

Nettle has long been used as a strengthening and cleansing spring tonic. In 1653, the physician Nicholas Culpepper wrote about nettle: “it is a good help in the spring. The tender shoots are eaten finely chopped and boiled in water to purify the blood, strengthen the liver, and thus keep the body in good health and adapt it for the coming season.” The beauty of nettle (and other nettles) is that they stimulate the flow of lymph, which in turn helps the body to remove waste products. They are also diuretic.

Marjoram is recognizable by its typical growth habit – the leaves grow in whorls around the stem at regular intervals. They shoot new shoots all season long into autumn – fortunately, because it is of no use when dried, use it fresh.

To awaken, strengthen and cleanse the body for spring, you can drink an infusion daily with valerian, dandelion leaves and stinging nettle, all of which have a strengthening effect on the liver. The fresh valerian leaves are good to include in smoothies in nettle soup or in a green juice. According to an old English saying, you should drink an infusion of valerian every day for 9 weeks. Then you will not only become radiantly beautiful but also meet the love of your life. Well, then! I have nothing to lose, I just have to get started.

Jokes aside – surely spring and light bring with them a desire for renewal, hope and an increased appetite for life? Leave the autumn leaves and old grudges behind to walk with light steps into the future with a lighter backpack. I let the fresh spring winds take hold of what I want to let go of and look forward to filling my veins with chlorophyll and new energy. Hope you feel the same!

Cleansing infusion:

1 liter of water

a handful of nettle shoots (about 10 pieces)

10 dandelion leaves

10 marten shoots (any variety)

Bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat and add the herbs. Let steep for 10 minutes under a lid. Drink 3-4 cups/day. The herbs can remain in the water during the day.

Wildflower: Galium aparine

White-bellied toad: Galium boreale

Yellow-grass: Galium verum

Stay wild Lisen