Elder gives you about two weeks of perfect flowers in June, and then it's done until the berries. Miss the window and you miss the cordial.

Pick on a dry morning

The scent is strongest before the heat of the day. Snip whole heads, shake off the bugs, and get them steeping the same day — the flavour fades fast.

Then wait

The berries come in September, dark and heavy. Cooked, they make a syrup that tastes like the end of summer. Raw, they'll upset your stomach — always cook elder.