Making Elderflower Cordial from Hedgerow Flowers

By Understanding Woodland Management and Coppicing for Walkers
Comments 35
9 Jul 2026

Making Elderflower Cordial from Hedgerow Flowers

Why elderflower is worth the walk

Every June, our hedgerows fill with creamy, flat-topped elderflower heads, and for a few short weeks you can bottle that scent. Elder grows almost everywhere in the UK — along field edges, in woodland clearings, behind allotments, on waste ground. The flowers make a cordial that tastes the way a summer evening smells, and it costs you nothing but a walk and a bag.

Pick on a dry morning, at the right moment

The single biggest difference between bland cordial and excellent cordial is timing. Elderflowers open from late May in southern England and run through June, sometimes into early July further north or on a cold, high site. You want heads that are fully open, flat and a soft creamy white — not the tight green-grey buds, and not the heads that have gone brown at the edges, which usually means the flowers have started to set fruit and will taste bitter.

Go out on a dry, bright morning once the dew has lifted. A head picked in sunshine holds more pollen and more perfume. Rain washes the pollen away and leaves the heads damp and prone to going mouldy before you get them home. Take a shallow basket or a paper bag rather than a sealed plastic sack, because elderflowers bruise and sweat quickly.

Choose your hedgerow with care

Not every elder bush is worth picking. Avoid anything growing within a few metres of a busy road, where the flowers carry exhaust dust you will never wash off convincingly. Skip bushes at low level beside footpaths well used by dogs, and avoid anything that looks as though it has been sprayed — verges next to arable fields are often treated, and a bare, scorched patch of grass underneath is a warning sign.

Look instead for elder along quiet country lanes, at the edge of woodland rides, beside old railway lines and in unsprayed hedgerows. Stand and smell before you pick. A good elderflower head is sweet and floral; some bushes have a heavier, slightly musky scent that a few people find unpleasant in a drink. If you don't like the smell, move on.

Fully open, creamy-white heads
Growing well away from traffic and spray
No brown florets and no crowds of insects
Plenty of untouched bushes left nearby for wildlife

Pick kindly, and don't be greedy

Elderflower feeds a great many creatures — hoverflies, bees, beetles and later the berries that sustain blackbirds, song thrushes and winter visitors. Take a head or two from a bush, then move on. Snip or pinch the stalk just below the head rather than tearing at the branches, so you don't damage the wood.

In the UK you may pick flowers and fruit for personal use on land where you have permission, but uprooting wild plants is illegal, and picking on protected sites, in many parks, or on private land without consent is not allowed. If a hedge sits on farmland, ask first. And if you cannot identify a plant with certainty, leave it alone. Elder is distinctive — a shrubby, often untidy bush with corky grey-brown bark and pinnate leaves in opposite pairs — but not every white hedgerow flower is safe to eat.

The cordial: a simple, forgiving recipe

This makes roughly 1.5 litres. The proportions are loose, so don't worry about being exact.

20 to 25 good elderflower heads, shaken free of insects
1.5 litres water
1 kg granulated sugar
2 unwaxed lemons, zest and juice
1 unwaxed orange, zest and juice
1 tsp citric acid (optional, but it keeps the colour bright and slows fermentation)

Bring the water and sugar to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely, then take it off the heat. Add the citrus zest and juice, followed by the elderflower heads. Don't wash the flowers — you will lose the pollen and much of the flavour. Give the heads a good shake outdoors to dislodge beetles and small flies, then drop them in.

Cover the pan and leave it somewhere cool for 24 to 48 hours. The longer it steeps the stronger it gets, but beyond two days it can turn dull and faintly cabbage-like. Strain through clean muslin or a fine sieve lined with kitchen paper, twice if you want it really clear, then stir in the citric acid.

Bottling, freezing and drinking it

Sterilise your bottles properly: wash them hot, then either run them through a dishwasher cycle or rinse with boiling water and leave them to drain upside down. Funnel the cordial in, seal, and keep in the fridge, where it will last several weeks. To be safe over a longer stretch, freeze it — plastic bottles filled to about three-quarters leave room for expansion, and the cordial keeps beautifully for a year.

To drink, dilute roughly one part cordial to five parts still or sparkling water, over plenty of ice, with a sprig of mint and a slice of lemon. It is also very good with gin, stirred into a glass of dry white wine, drizzled over strawberries or poached apricots, or frozen into ice lollies for a hot afternoon.

And if you miss the season, don't worry. Elderflower heads freeze well, first on a tray and then tipped into a bag, and a handful dropped into hot sugar syrup in January will bring June back in a glass.

Foraging

Seasonal Foraging Calendar for British Hedgerows

Consider magnification, lens size and close focus before buying binoculars for watching birds among dense trees and shrubs.

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5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

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