My vocation
Elaine has spent her life surrounded by wild places; when she started to volunteer with BBOWT she realised that nature conservation was the job of her dreams. As well as looking after nine nature…
Elaine has spent her life surrounded by wild places; when she started to volunteer with BBOWT she realised that nature conservation was the job of her dreams. As well as looking after nine nature…
A much-loved garden bird, the blackbird is famous for its harmonious song. In winter, our resident birds are joined by migrants from Scandinavia and the Baltics.
The Welsh poppy is a plant of damp and shady places, roadsides and hillsides. It is also a garden escapee. It flowers over summer, attracting nectar-loving insects.
One of the prettiest hardy ferns, the lady fern is delicate and lacy, with ladder-like foliage. It makes a good garden fern, providing attractive cover for wildlife.
Our largest shieldbug, the red-and-green hawthorn shieldbug can be seen in gardens, parks and woodlands, feeding on hawthorn, rowan and whitebeam. The adults hibernate over winter.
Greater celandine is a very common plant that spreads easily in the garden, on waste ground and in hedgerows. It is considered a weed, but the small, yellow flowers provide nectar for insects.
Petty spurge is found on cultivated ground, such as gardens, fields and waste ground. It displays cup-shaped, green flowers in clusters and oval, green leaves.
Creeping jenny is a low-growing plant of wet grasslands, riverbanks, ponds and wet woods. It has cup-like, yellow flowers and is a popular choice for garden ponds.
With club-shaped leaflets on its fronds, wall-rue is easy to spot as it grows out of crevices in walls. Plant it in your garden rockery to provide cover for insects.
Look for the pretty, azure-blue flowers of Wood forget-me-not along woodland rides and hedgerows, and in ancient and wet woodlands. Varieties of this flower for the garden are very popular.
With its familiar features, the Field pansy is a delicate version of a garden favourite. Usually creamy-yellow in colour, it can be seen in fields and on roadside verges and waste ground.
Help wildlife in hot weather and lend a helping hand. Keep your watering stations topped up with water, and let some of your garden grow wild to provide shade for animals.