My city break
The hustle and bustle of city life melts away when Kathryn visits Camley Street Natural Park. Without leaving central London, she can go from man-made soaring skyscrapers to an oasis-like…
The hustle and bustle of city life melts away when Kathryn visits Camley Street Natural Park. Without leaving central London, she can go from man-made soaring skyscrapers to an oasis-like…
The carnivorous lifestyle of common butterwort makes this heathland plant a fascinating species. Its leaves excrete a sticky fluid that tempts unsuspecting insects to land and become its prey.
The pretty Deptford pink is a very rare flower that is very vulnerable to the loss of our traditional grassland and farmland habitats. It can only be found in a few places in England and Wales.…
Fennel has feathery leaves and open, umbels of yellow flowers. It was probably introduced by the Romans for culinary use, and is now a naturalised species of verges, waste ground and sand dunes.…
A tussocky sedge, Greater pond sedge has stout, upright flower spikes, strap-like leaves and triangular stems. It prefers lowland wetland habitats on heavy soils.
Traditionally a coastal species, Lesser sea-spurrey has spread inland, taking advantage of the winter-salting of our roads. Its pink-and-white flowers bloom in summer.
A plump gamebird, the red-legged partridge is an introduced species that seems to have settled here with little problem. It can be spotted in its favoured open scrub and farmland habitats.
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.
The carnivorous lifestyle of the round-leaved sundew makes this heathland plant a fascinating species. The round leaves have sticky, 'dew'-covered tendrils that tempt in unsuspecting…
Flowering in spring, the cylindrical, densely packed flower spikes of Sweet vernal-grass are easily spotted in a meadow. It also tastes of sweet vanilla and was once a favourite 'chewing…
Timothy is a grass of meadows, arable land, waste ground and roadside verges. It is also cultivated as fodder for livestock. Look for slender stems and long, cylindrical flower spikes in summer.…