Have you noticed the glorious creamy-white flowers, some almost as big as saucers, that are dominating our hedgerows at the moment? The appearance of these aromatic floral tributes to the beginning of summer coincides with the arrival of gooseberries, or should do. Most years’ gooseberries and elderflowers arrive together, this year things have been rather topsy-turvy. Yes, gooseberries have made an appearance, but slightly later than normal. They are far smaller than usual and certainly not as sweet. Most years the elderflowers appear at the end of May and continue blooming until the beginning of June, this year they were late too.

Regardless of when they bloom, their fragrance is magical. Walk a country lane where elderflowers are blooming, and you will find their aroma overwhelming. No wonder even the Romans were tempted to use them to flavour their food. In ancient days the elder was regarded as sacred. Superstitious folk would grow a tree close to their house to keep out evil spirits and it is said that as Christ’s cross was made of elder wood, it is safe to shelter from lightning under an elder tree. Washing your face in dew from freshly gathered elderflowers is believed to preserve youthful beauty. Though I feel if you have made the effort to get up while morning dew still sits on the elderflowers, your beauty is assured anyway!

If you have time to gather a bucket or two of elderflowers you will find a great recipe for elderflower cordial in Madalene Bonvini-Hamel’s The British Larder (Absolute Press £30) which was the judges’ second choice for new writing in the Guild of Food Writers’ awards this year. It was one of the many books I had to read when taking part in the judging, so I speak from experience when I say the recipe is good and actually works. Look for the recipe under the month of May though rather than June as the work undertaken when putting this book together was done a couple of years ago, when spring was warmer and everything was ready to harvest earlier. Madalene follows this recipe with elderflower and wine jelly served with elderflower cream. That’s really good too, an ideal summer pudding. One tip she gives for picking elderflowers is that the best picking takes place before the late spring rain because once it has rained, the flowers then drop and this encourages the fermentation process, which in turn changes the flavour of the flowers.

If you want to celebrate the beginning of summer with gooseberries and elderflowers, a marriage made in heaven, I suggest you go to your local pick-your-own. Gooseberries are seldom stocked in supermarkets these days and elderflowers certainly aren’t, but they are often found blooming in the nearby hedgerows. Now gooseberries are ripe, you will find the strawberries are beginning to juice up too. There is something magical in harvesting summer fruits, particularly strawberries when they are ripe and warm from the sun. This is the time of the year when you can indulge yourself by eating fresh fruit and vegetables such as broad beans, peas, new potatoes, artichokes, sweet young carrots, spring onions and the many herbs which are now adding their distinct aromas to the night air. Most herbs are best when picked before they come out in flower. Once they have flowered their fragrance loses some of their delicate aroma, mint being a good example. So pick your herbs now and make the most of them, by adding them to everything you cook.

Use their flowers too. Chive flowers are out at the moment and they make a great garnish and addition to salads.

Peas are another treat not to be missed. I’m not talking about those sad little pea pods that have been harvested days before and sit on the supermarket shelf waiting for you to purchase them. You are better buying frozen peas that are processed within an hour of being picked. Go and pick your own peas, then spend a leisurely afternoon sitting in the sun sipping elderflower cordial while you remove them from their pods.

I agree that driving to the local pick-your-own takes time and effort, but it is well worth it. Freshly picked bounty pulsating with life and vitamins is a way of injecting real goodness into your diet. Local pick-your-owns now offering an abundant summer harvest include: Q Gardens, Milton Hill, Steventon; Medley Manor Farm, Binsey; Millets, Frilford; Peachcroft Farm, Radley and Rectory Farm, Stanton St John.