The red-eyed damselfly is a small, but robust, damselfly of canals, ponds, lakes and slow-flowing rivers. As its name suggests, it has bright blood-red eyes, but a mostly black body.

Perhaps the first sign that spring is just around the corner is the snowdrop poking its way through the frosted soil of a woodland, churchyard or garden. From January, look for its famous nodding…

Hazel is a small tree of woodlands, grasslands and gardens that is regularly coppiced - the practice of cutting the stems of a tree to allow new shoots to grow. It is well known for its long,…

As its name suggests, Red bartsia does have a red tinge to its stem, leaves and small flowers. Look for it on roadside verges, railway cuttings and waste ground in summer.

Traditionally a small finch of woodland and scrub, it appears that the redpoll is now moving into our gardens. It has a streaky brown body, red forehead and black bib, and mostly feeds on seeds.…

Wild marjoram is actually the same aromatic herb as oregano which is used in Mediterranean cooking. Its small, pink flower clusters can be seen on chalk and limestone grasslands in summer.