My sanctuary
Anne’s garden provides an amazing place for wildlife. She has helped rescue hedgehogs and released them to start a life in the wild again from there. Her camera traps allow her to see when they…
Anne’s garden provides an amazing place for wildlife. She has helped rescue hedgehogs and released them to start a life in the wild again from there. Her camera traps allow her to see when they…
The pretty-in-purple amethyst deceiver can be seen growing in the leaf litter of our woodlands during late summer and autumn. Although edible, it looks similar to the poisonous Lilac fibrecap.
Unsurprisingly, the chalkhill blue can be found on sunny, chalk grassland sites in southern England. Clouds of this beautiful blue butterfly may be seen fluttering around low-growing flowers.
As its name suggests, giant hogweed it a large umbellifer with distinctively ridged, hollow stems. An introduced species, it is an invasive weed of riverbanks, where it prevents native species…
The disc-shaped leaves and straw-coloured flower spikes of Navelwort help to identify this plant. As does its habitat - look for it growing from crevices in rocks, walls and stony areas.
Planaria are flatworms in the phylum Platyhelminthes with amazing regeneration abilities giving them the title 'immortal under the edge of a knife'. There are many different species that…
Our most familiar fern, bracken can be found growing in dense stands on hillsides, moorland, heathland and in woodlands. It is very large and dies back in winter, turning the landscape orangey-…
Common whitebeam is not a common tree, despite its name. It can be found growing wild in a variety of habitats, but is also planted in towns and gardens. Look for shiny, oval leaves with white…
Horseshoe vetch is a member of the pea family, so displays bright yellow, pea-like flowers and seed pods. Look for this low-growing plant on chalk grasslands from May to July.
The Leyland cypress, or 'Leylandii', is a notorious tree that has been widely planted for its fast-growing nature. It easily can get out of control, shading gardens at the expense of…
Tormentil can be found growing on acid grassland, heathland and moorland, but even pops up alongside roads. It bears yellow, buttercup-like flowers, but with only four petals (buttercups have five…
In 2021, Emily and her partner took on an allotment. It is an amazing space that has allowed Emily to be more sustainable whilst reaping the well-being benefits of nature. Their next plan is to…