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Ever wonder if there's anything left to harvest in the middle of January? Never fear, rose hips are still here! The blueberries might be long gone and even the cranberries past their prime, but the bright red fruit of the wild rose remains, clinging tenaciously to leafless branches. At least that's what I'm seeing here on Prince of Wales Island where winter has been pretty easy on us so far.

A couple days ago I checked a favorite bramble, anchored securely on a steep, coastal hillside where the climate obviously agrees with its disposition. Covered with a blanket of snow just last week, the shiny hips now glimmered in the morning rain. (Temperatures had shifted from the low 20s to almost 50 degrees F) Many of the plump rose hips were still orange-red (not quite ripe) and rather firm despite the occurrence of several freezes. A choice handful had ripened to a bright red perfection while many others, although displaying slight splits in the outer skin, were also quite acceptable for collection. This late in the year some had turned brown and/or shriveled beyond repair.

Rose hips can be picked before they turn red, after the first frost, or anytime, as they can often be found throughout the winter in edible condition. Highly nutritious, they are an excellent survival food so, whenever possible, plan to get lost where wild roses grow. Some recipes specify the desired ripeness or use a combination of pre-ripe and hips picked after a freeze or two. Apparently cold temperatures trigger a conversion of starches into sugars as the plant tries to keep from freezing, resulting in a sweeter hip.

As I collected my winter treasure, I thought about my visit to this same location a few months ago, how I had paused to soak in the fantastic fragrance of the aromatic blossoms from the upwind side of the sprawling thicket. Brimming with bees, the silky, pink flowers were a beautiful, classic picture of summer. I like that advice to stop and smell the roses.

Many parts of the wild rose are useful for food, medicinal and cosmetic purposes. In spring the peeled, tender shoots can be nibbled, while in summer the leaves, buds and petals are gathered for salads, teas and jellies along with skin and eye treatments. The hips, gathered into fall and winter, are extremely high in vitamin C as well as A, B, E, K and many minerals, just waiting to transform into juice, tea, wine, jelly, bread, pie, candy and more.

Rose petals are easy to deal with, but hips (once you've lacerated your arms and face to get them) can become very tedious if your recipe calls for removal of the seeds and sticky hairs. I find it a bit easier to accomplish this with soft, ripe hips that have been slightly dried. If it is juice that you want, simply remove the stems and tails (sepals) and use whole. After cooking to soften, the seeds and fuzz will be retained by the use of a fine filter such as a jelly bag.

Propagation is accomplished by means of runners and seeds, reportedly taking two years for seeds to germinate naturally. If that length of time does not satisfy, one can scarify and stratify (procedures that involve scraping and freezing). Wild roses make great, practical landscaping plants but be prepared to prune. I once planted a tiny, innocent seed that, 10 years later, has turned into a massive, window-blocking monster intent on seizing passers-by with its unscrupulous groping, thorny stems.

Whether you are harvesting along the edge of a river, a coastal forest or in your own backyard, there's still time to take advantage of the long season offered by the wild rose-just remember to leave a few hips for hungry birds and moose.