The December issue covered some of the possibilities for making the edge of your garden - the hedge - as useful and productive as any other part. Three of the best hedgerow recipes you can find - elderflower champagne, rosehip syrup and elderflower cordial are below, to go with the sloe gin recipe in the magazine itself.

ELDERFLOWER CHAMPAGNE
Another early summer classic - refreshing, lightly fizzy, and the perfect level of alcohol for a lunchtime picnic.



8 litres water
1.25 kg sugar
8 large elderflower heads
4 lemons
4 tablespoons mild white wine vinegar

Pour the water and sugar into a pan and warm slowly until the sugar has dissolved, then allow to cool.

Juice two of the lemons, slice the other two, and add to the sugar water along with the vinegar. Cover with a tea towel and leave for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Strain through a fine sieve or muslin cloth, twisting the flowers up into a ball and squeezing to release more flavour through the cloth.

The natural yeasts will get to work on the sugars and begin to turn them to alcohol.

I store mine in flip top bottles as the pressure can get quite considerable, but I know others use old screwtop water bottles. Whichever you use, makes sure they are sterilised*.

The champagne should be ready in around a fortnight, and should be consumed within a month.


ROSEHIP SYRUP
A real winter warming smasher - use this syrup over pancakes, diluted to as a hot drink, or for something cooler, poured over ice cream. It's high in vitamins A and C so as well as tasting fabulous, it will do it's bit to help ward off colds.

Th recipe is so simple, and either our native hedgerow rosehip or the larger fruited rosa rugosa work well.



500g rosehips
600g granulated sugar

Put a pan with 800ml of water on to boil. Meanwhile, wash the rosehips and remove any stalks, the zap them to bits in a food processor. Add them to the boiling water, cover and take the pan off the heat when it has reached boiling point again. Leave it to stand for 20 minutes, before straining it through a muslin for an hour.

Save the strained liquid. Boil another 800ml of water, add the rosehip pulp, bring back to the boil and let rest for another 20 minutes. This time strain overnight.

Next day throw the pulp on the compost and mix the two strained liquids. This will give you around a litre of juice - pour it into a saucepan and add the sugar, heating gently until it dissolves. Once dissolved, boil for 3 minutes, then pour into
sterilised bottles* using a funnel.

You've got four months to use your syrup, which usually isn't a challenge.

ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL
If you're new to foraging and the art of wild harvesting, this is the perfect place to start.



From late May, through June (depending where you live) you'll find plenty of creamy white flowers splattered across hedgerow elders. They grow everywhere - I picked some last year at Basingstoke train station. Their perfume is what spring is all about, and it gives that scent up to the most refreshing drink here is.

It's perfectly simple to make.

Two dozen good sized elderflower heads
grated zest of 4 lemons
159ml lemon juice
1kg sugar

Check over the flowerheads for insects - you ant to avoid washing them as this will take away some of that incredible scent.

Put them in a pan, along with the lemon zest. Pour in 1.5l of boiling water, cover with a tea towel and leave to infuse for at least 8 hours (overnight is perfect).

Strain through a muslin. Pour into a saucepan and add the sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently at first to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for a couple of minutes.

Using a funnel, pour the liquid into sterilised bottles* and seal. It should keep for a month or so - although you could always freeze some in plastic bottles if you want to keep it for longer.

Drink diluted to the strength you like.


*Wash jars in soapy water, rinse well and then place in a cool oven - 130C/250F/Gas ½ - for 15-20 minutes.


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