If you have a garden pond, look out for the Large red damselfly resting at the water's edge. As the name suggests, males are bright red with a black thorax, but females may be almost entirely…

The diminutive pygmy shrew has a distinctively pointy nose and tiny eyes. It lives life in the fast lane, eating every 2-3 hours to survive, and only living for a year or so. Look out for it in…

Red-necked grebes occasionally attempt to nest in the UK, but they're more often seen as winter visitors to sheltered coasts.

A prickly, tall plant, the Small teasel is closely related to the Common teasel, but has much smaller, more rounded flower heads. It prefers damp, open woodlands.

The upright, blue flower spikes of Viper's-bugloss can be spotted on chalk grassland, sand dunes, cliffs and banks. Its spotted stem is thought to resemble a viper.

Bladder campion is so-called for the bladder-like bulge that sites just behind the five-petalled flower - this is actually the fused sepals. Look for it on grasslands, farmland and along hedgerows…

As its name suggests, Wood spurge is found in woodlands. It is an attractive evergreen that displays cup-shaped, green flowers in clusters and dark green leaves.

Reed sweet-grass is a towering grass with large, loose flower heads that can be found on marshy ground near rivers, streams and ponds. It can become invasive, but does shelter various aquatic…

Common cow-wheat is a delicate annual that brightens up the edges of acid woodland and heaths with deep golden flowers in the summer.

If you were to pick up a rock in the garden, you’d hopefully find a few common woodlouse. These hardy minibeasts have in-built armour and like to hide in warm, moist places like compost heaps.

The large eyed ladybird is unmistakeable: it is our only ladybird with yellow rings around its black spots. Ladybirds are beneficial insects, managing garden pests - encourage them by putting up a…