Topic

Through the seasons

Flowers, fruit and winter rest: plants reveal the passing of the year. We begin with elder and rosehip, following these two shrubs through the seasons.

Section

Through the seasons

What is in season, month by month through the year?

1 article

Deep dive

The Round of the Year: Elder and Rosehip Through the Seasons

Elder and dog rose through the year, from the first shoots to winter rest. What to look for on the shrubs, and the customs that accompany their seasons.

Lukas Berger

From noticing to the next step

The yearly overview is the starting point for this topic. When it leads to a practical question, these pages take you further: planting, harvesting berries, cooking with flowers or planning a spring walk.

Elder in your own garden?
The growing guide explains elder as a bush or tree and works through the questions to ask before planting.
Growing elderberry: tree, bush, or shrub, and how to plant it
When are the berries ready?
The harvest article complements the yearly overview with the decision about when to pick the berries.
The elderberry harvest: when is good enough?
Taking the flowers into the kitchen?
The elderflower cordial recipe gives the ingredients and method. It uses flowers, rather than elderberries.
Elderflower cordial (the way we make it)
Looking more closely in spring?
The spring forest walk offers a simple routine for a pause outdoors. Observing does not require collecting anything.
Take the green way home