Early Spring

Baby Plants

In this early spring section of Lise Wolff's Three Seasons of Herbal Wisdom Plant Walks you will learn to identify baby plants, the first greenery that shows. Learn how to properly identify common look-alikes, little tid-bits of their uses, what you can collect for wild edibles (and a few ideas of what to make with them) and some fun extras!


This section includes 3 days worth of Plant Walks that would normally take several hours each day to complete. They are condensed down for you here into nearly 5 hours of content in 1-12 minute length videos to easily view and review.

Who Showed up for Early Spring...

Meet the Babies

  • 1

    Welcome!

    • Important Welcome Message (pre-requisite)
  • 2

    Class 1 - Extras

    • About Class 1

    • Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris) Story

    • Field Reference Book

  • 3

    Class 1 - Wild Edibles

    • Daylily (Hemerocalis fulva)

    • Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

    • Wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris)

    • Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)

    • Nettles (Urtica dioica)
  • 4

    Class 1 - Trees

    • Tree Shapes

    • Cottonwood (Populus deltoids)

    • Elderberry (Sambucus pubens and Sambucus canadensis)

    • Linden (Tilia spp.)

    • Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra)

    • Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

    • Red Osier (Cornus sericea)

    • Thuja or Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

    • Vibernum (Vibernum trilobum)

    • White Pine (Pinus strobus)
  • 5

    Class 1 - Herbaceous Plants

    • Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)

    • Avens (Geum urbanum)

    • Burdock (Arctium lappa)

    • Celandine (Chelidonium majus)

    • Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)

    • Dandelion (Taraxicum officinale)

    • Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)

    • Iris (Iris spp.)

    • Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) and Avens (Geum urbanum)

    • Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)

    • Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

    • Plantain (Plantago major)

    • Sweetleaf (Monarda fistulosa)

    • Wood Betony (Betonica officinalis or Stachys officinalis)

    • Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
  • 6

    Class 2 - Herbaceous Plants, a Tree, and a Wild Edible

    • About Class 2

    • Blue Vervain (Verbana hastata)

    • Goldenrod  (Solidago spp.)

    • Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) female

    • Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)

    • Ramps (Allium tricoccum)

    • Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum multi or bi florum)

    • Sweetleaf (Monarda fistulosa)

    • Wild Ginger (Asarum canadensis)

    • Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)

    • Violet (Viola spp.)
  • 7

    Class 2 - Who's who?

    • Iris (Iris spp.) or Day Lily (Hemerocalis fulva)?

    • Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)

    • Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea), Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)
  • 8

    Class 3 - Spontaneous Edible and Medicinal Garden(s) - The Bitter Greens

    • About Class 3

    • Spontaneous Edible and Medicinal Garden(s) - 1 - Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

    • Spontaneous Edible and Medicinal Garden(s) - 2 - Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and Pasto

    • Spontaneous Edible and Medicinal Garden(s) - 3 - Creasy Greens and Naturally Detoxing with Bitter Greens

    • Spontaneous Edible and Medicinal Garden(s) - 4 - Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola)
  • 9

    Class 3 - Herbaceous Plants

    • Avens (Geum spp.) and Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)

    • Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata)

    • Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)

    • Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

    • Burdock (Arctium lappa) and Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus)

    • Cohosh, Blue (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

    • Cohosh, Red or White (Actaea spp.)

    • Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)

    • Daylily (Hemerocalis fulva)

    • Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)

    • Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)

    • Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) and Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)

    • Solomon's Seal (True and False)

    • Solomon's Seal (True and False) Roots and Multiple Comparisons Part 1

    • Solomon's Seal (True and False) Roots and Multiple Comparisons Part 2

    • Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica)

    • Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)

    • Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)

    • Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)

    • Wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris)

    • Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

    • Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus)
  • 10

    Class 3 - Trees and Bushes

    • Aronia Berries/ Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)

    • Serviceberry or Juneberry (Amelanchier spp.)

    • Sumac (Rhus glabra)
  • 11

    This is a work in progress. We welcome your Feedback...

    • Please share your thoughts

"Thoroughly enjoying this class!  Thank you Lise for doing it.  Day lilies - who knew - I love them.  So light and refreshing, crisp and crunchy.  I went to the farm after the first class and picked day lily and ate it, stinging nettles - made tea and tincture, motherwort, shephards purse, violet - oh the violets were beautiful.  So also made tincture from the ladies mantle plants that I have.  It was such fun.  Your pictures, thanks Tara, are so clear and distinct that I am comfortable with unfamiliar plants, you are making them familiar and its such fun watching them grow.  I am so glad I signed up for this class."  - Diane Allmann

5 star rating

Early Spring Walks (Motherwort series)

Charity Arrington

Excellent information along with outstanding video and sound quality!

Excellent information along with outstanding video and sound quality!

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5 star rating

Early Spring Plant walks with Lise Wolff

Diane Secor

I love this course and am learning so much! The way Lise explains plants and their uses is brilliant. I find all the medicinal uses of so many common weeds p...

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I love this course and am learning so much! The way Lise explains plants and their uses is brilliant. I find all the medicinal uses of so many common weeds particularly interesting, and look forward to touching, tasting and smelling (and tincturing) many of them growing in my backyard!

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5 star rating

Very accurate title. Definitely will be paying closer att...

Rose Casey

I appreciated all the helpful id tips, stories and close-up photography along with the environmental views. Really enjoyed the stories!

I appreciated all the helpful id tips, stories and close-up photography along with the environmental views. Really enjoyed the stories!

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star rating

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5 star rating

Early Spring Plant Walks With Lise

Rhonda Larson

5...if I could give this course a 10 I would do it! Awesome and loved it!

5...if I could give this course a 10 I would do it! Awesome and loved it!

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5 star rating

Early Spring Plant Walks With Lise

Rhonda Larson

5...if I could give this course a 10 I would do it! Awesome and loved it!

5...if I could give this course a 10 I would do it! Awesome and loved it!

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5 star rating

Love those weeds!

Char Bezanson

Lise provides a down to earth tour of the (mostly) common plants around us that have medicinal uses. She speaks from personal experience, and is also well-ve...

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Lise provides a down to earth tour of the (mostly) common plants around us that have medicinal uses. She speaks from personal experience, and is also well-versed in traditional uses. Very practical and accessible.

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5 star rating

Early Spring Plant Walk

Marcia Price

I found this very fun! The sound quality got a bit spooky off and on, but overall I give it a five!

I found this very fun! The sound quality got a bit spooky off and on, but overall I give it a five!

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5 star rating

Harvesting information

Diane Sweeney

Love the class so far, so interesting to learn more about the plants themselves, and especially when and how to harvest. Looking forward to more.

Love the class so far, so interesting to learn more about the plants themselves, and especially when and how to harvest. Looking forward to more.

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5 star rating

Plant walks

erin johnson

Love the plant walks with Lise! Really appreciate learning more in depth about the plants all around us. A great education!

Love the plant walks with Lise! Really appreciate learning more in depth about the plants all around us. A great education!

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5 star rating

Terrific!

Roseanne Schnoll

Learning a lot. Love Lise’s personality.

Learning a lot. Love Lise’s personality.

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5 star rating

Early spring plant walks

Pam Gibson

These are so digestible being so short. You can fit them in anywhere.

These are so digestible being so short. You can fit them in anywhere.

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5 star rating

Early Spring Plant Walks with Lise Wolff

Sophie Frederickson

Fascinating to see the baby plants. It does help to understand the plants better. Can't wait to taste more of the spring plants next year.

Fascinating to see the baby plants. It does help to understand the plants better. Can't wait to taste more of the spring plants next year.

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5 star rating

Very informative walks

Signee Hoffman

I loved this course. It was informative to the early spring plants and trees . Love the stories. Now I really want to eat raw Solomon seal shoot.

I loved this course. It was informative to the early spring plants and trees . Love the stories. Now I really want to eat raw Solomon seal shoot.

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5 star rating

Plant Walks with Lise Wolff

Joseph Waters

Short Simple and Sweet! Lise Wolf takes the fear out of wildcrafting. She reminds us that with some simple rules, nature's just waiting there for us. Put tha...

Read More

Short Simple and Sweet! Lise Wolf takes the fear out of wildcrafting. She reminds us that with some simple rules, nature's just waiting there for us. Put that herb book down for a second and off you go! :)

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