Looking a bit like a ragged version of a dandelion, mouse-ear hawkweed has lemon-yellow flower heads that are tinged with red at their outer edges. It likes grassy places with short turf and…

Sphagnum mosses carpet the ground with colour on our marshes, heaths and moors. They play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs: by storing water in their spongy forms, they prevent the decay…

The white-letter hairstreak gets its name from the white lines that form a 'W' shape on its underside. It is an elusive butterfly, spending much of its time in the treetops.

The red mason bee is a common, gingery bee that can be spotted nesting in the crumbling mortar of old walls. Encourage bees to nest in your garden by putting out a tin can full of short, hollow…

A tall plant, Rosebay willowherb is a successful coloniser; it can form dense stands of bright pink flower spikes on disturbed ground, such as woodland clearings, verges and waste ground.

He loves me, he loves me not' is a familiar rhyme associated with what is probably our most well-known plant: the common daisy. Its white-and-yellow flower heads brighten up lawns, verges and…

The Bechstein's bat is a very rare bat that lives in woodland and roosts in old woodpecker holes or tree crevices. Like other bats, the females form 'maternity colonies' to have…

The drooping, tubular, pink flowers of Common comfrey are a familiar sight to many gardeners. Sometimes considered a 'weed', this hairy plant can be used as an organic fertiliser and a…

As its name suggests, pendulous sedge has drooping form with long, nodding flower spikes that give it an attractive and soft look. It can be found in wet woodlands and along riversides.