Nettle Nonsense owners find wild buffet in Al Borlin Park

The Sky Valley is teeming with wild, edible plants that have a variety of medicinal properties, and Monroe residents Chris and Shelly Kochon are helping people identify them.

The Kochons have rebranded their herbal soap business, Nettle Nonsense, and are inviting people to rediscover the outdoors through their custom plant walks. The plant walks can occur anywhere, from local parks and trails to their customers' own back yards. The goal is to share their knowledge and expertise about wild plants with others, while encouraging love and respect of what the earth has to offer.

"We've had an overwhelming response,GÇ¥ Shelly said. "We really feel like we're reconnecting people. We're not teaching them the ways to cure all ailments, but we are definitely re-teaching them about what's out here in their own yard. It's been amazing.GÇ¥

Much of the Kochons' knowledge comes from a one-year herbal apprenticeship program they completed at the Cedar Mountain Herb School in Mount Vernon. They moved to Monroe from Lake Stevens about three years ago, loving the way they can be in the city one minute, and exploring the lush network of parks and wooded areas the next.

After taking some time to get settled, the two decided to embrace their love of teaching and sharing what they know with others by making it into a full-time career. In addition to plant walks, Shelly will offer monthly outdoor art classes that focus on wild plants.

"I'm an artist, so I'm going to start hosting botanical illustration classes,GÇ¥ Shelly said. "It'll teach people how to draw the leaves and recognize the shapes and the growth patterns.GÇ¥

As demonstrated at Monroe's Al Borlin Park last week, a plant walk with Chris and Shelly is an engaging, interactive process that takes full advantage of the outdoors. Plant walkers are given the opportunity to see, touch, smell and even taste some of the plants, all of which grow wild and abundantly. Chris and Shelly took to the trails with ease, and were confidently able to identify numerous wild plants and describe their medicinal properties.

Joining them for last week's excursion were family members visiting from New Jersey; Angela and Alex Kochon.-á -á

East of downtown Monroe, Al Borlin Park winds along the Skykomish River. The trails are lined with edible plants, including wild raspberries, also known as thimbleberries, salmonberries, Indian plums, Hawthorn apples and numerous other plants that can be harvested and eaten raw, cooked or blended into smoothies.-á

"There's just so much stuff out here that's very relatable to what we actually eat,GÇ¥ Chris said. "There's good forage food out here; it's a plentiful area.GÇ¥

Shelly pointed out St. John's Wart growing alongside the trail, which can be identified by holding one of its leaves up to the sunlight. With the light shining through the leaf, one can clearly discern numerous tiny dots scattered on its surface, making it look almost perforated. St. John's Wart is edible and medicinal, well known for its antidepressant and anti-inflammatory properties.

"It's these plants that people only know of in bottles and plastic containers, but they're right here,GÇ¥ Shelly said. "We actually just found out that we have some of this growing in our yard.GÇ¥

The Kochons introduced their guests to a medicinal herb called Cleaver, which is unmistakable due to its distinctly sticky feel, they said. Cleaver is a plant they are in the process of studying more extensively, Shelly said, but it is known to be effective at treating psoriasis. Perhaps not the most palatable of wild plants, Shelly advocates for using it to enhance smoothies.

The great thing about learning to recognize wild plants is it can transform the entire outdoor experience, Shelly said. If a person knows what to look for, Al Borlin becomes a smorgasbord of herbal remedies; the roots of wild bleeding hearts can be used for pain relief, leafy green plantains are a natural antihistamine, and even invasive species like Japanese knotweed can be harvested for food.-á

"The young chutes are edible; you can make a pie out of them,GÇ¥ Shelly said. "If I'm going to harvest them, I might as well use them.GÇ¥

Once you learn to identify the plants, you begin to see them everywhere, she said, which opens a whole new world for folks.

Dandelions are held in high regard by both Chris and Shelly. The entire dandelion plant, including the leaves, roots and flowers, are edible and medicinal. Dandelions are a good source of beta-carotene and rich in vitamin C, fiber, calcium and antioxidants. They can also be an appetite stimulant and help to promote good digestion.

Chris and Shelly learned that adding the yellow flowers to standard chocolate chip cookie dough puts a healthy spin on a classic recipe, adding fun, bright yellow embellishments.-á

"It makes it look like you've cooked a canary in your cookie,GÇ¥ Shelly said. "They're so cute for kids.GÇ¥

Dandelions are Shelly's favorite wild plant, while Chris enjoys nettles.

"I consider nettle to be the multivitamin of the forest,GÇ¥ Chris said. "It is packed with everything you can think of.GÇ¥

Nettles can be tricky to harvest due to small hairs on the plant that cause a stinging sensation when touched. A person can wear gloves to help with the task, while skilled foragers employ knowledge of the plant's makeup to avoid getting stung. If they are to be used for food, it is advised that nettles be harvested before they flower. Nettles can be used to make soups and teas, saut+¬ed with other vegetables or pureed into a nettle pesto.-á -á

"I've actually grown quite fond of nettles in place of spinach in some of our dishes. It's really super good for you ' there's a lot of vitamin C. Nettles are also a sign of very fertile soil,GÇ¥ Chris said. "(When) people have nettles in their yard, they're usually bent out of shape about it and they're upset, but I tell them it's a great thing because it means their soil is just stellar.GÇ¥

The incredible thing about nature is that there is always more to learn, Shelly said. One of her recent discoveries has to do with the versatility of wild salmonberry plants, a leafy green plant that produces a fuchsia-colored flower. Many people have enjoyed wild salmonberries, a raspberry-shaped fruit that comes in varying shades of red and peach, but some might not know that the stalks of the salmonberry plants are also edible and quite tasty.

The stalks should be peeled before they are eaten, and it is the young, first-year stalks that are most palatable. They can be steamed like asparagus or just eaten raw.

"I like that better than the berry,GÇ¥ said Alex Kochon, after trying some.-á

Anyone interested in learning more about wild plants is a welcome customer, as are hikers and youth. Chris and Shelly hope to partner with local schools and youth organizations to help instill a greater appreciation of the natural environment. The younger generations are a key audience, Shelly said.

"They're the next ones that are going to protect the planet.GÇ¥

For more information about Nettle Nonsense, visit www.facebook.com/NettleNonsense. To inquire about scheduling a plant walk or for pricing information, email Shelly at nettlenonsense@yahoo.com.