Meadow saffron
A late-blooming flower, Meadow saffron looks like a crocus, displaying similar pink flowers once its leaves have died back. It is a highly poisonous plant of meadows and woodland rides and…
Search
Chwilio
How to do companion planting
Grow plants that help each other! Maximise your garden for you and for wildlife using this planting technique.
Thrift
Cushions of clover-like, pink Thrift are a familiar sight of cliffs, shingle beaches and sand dunes around the UK. Also known as 'Cliff Clover', it makes a good garden plant.
Common polypody
The common polypody is a hardy fern of damp, shady places in woodlands. It also makes a good garden fern. It has ladder-like, leathery foliage with pimply undersides - these spots are the spores…
Common blue
The common blue butterfly lives up to its name - it's bright blue and found in all kinds of sunny, grassy habitats throughout the UK! Look out for it in your garden, too.
Seagrass
Meadows of seagrass spread across the seabed, their dense green leaves sheltering a wealth of wildlife including our two native species of seahorse.
Common red soldier beetle
The common red soldier beetle is also known as the 'bloodsucker' for its striking red appearance, but it is harmless. It is a beneficial garden insect as the adults eat aphids, and the…
Holly blue
Look out for the small holly blue in your garden or local park. It is the first blue butterfly to emerge in spring, and a second generation appears in summer. The caterpillars are fond of holly…
My muse
Mark suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia, meaning that in bustling areas the voices he can hear become overwhelming. They are his muses, but can get overpowering. When he’s outside in the garden,…
Spear thistle
A common plant of disturbed ground like roadside verges and field edges, the spear thistle has purple, fluffy flower heads that appear in summer. Its flowers attract insects and its seeds feed…
Pyramidal orchid
The pyramidal orchid lives up to its name - look for a bright pinky-purple, densely packed pyramid of flowers atop a green stem. It likes chalk grassland, sand dunes, roadside verges and quarries…
Perforate st John's-wort
The subject of much myth and legend, and a herbal remedy, Perforate st John's-wort is a familiar flower. It has star-shaped, bright yellow flowers and lots of tiny holes in its leaves that…