The song thrush is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful and loud song. The broken shells of their blue, spotty eggs can often be found under a hedge in spring.

The wayfaring-tree is a small tree of hedgerows, woods, scrub and downland. It displays creamy-white flowers in spring and red berries in autumn, which ripen to black and are very poisonous.

Introduced from Japan in the 19th century, Japanese knotweed is now an invasive non-native plant of many riverbanks, waste grounds and roadside verges, where it prevents native species from…

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…

Like many of our birds of prey, the peregrine falcon was so persecuted, numbers fell dramatically. Thankfully, this super-speedy flyer is now making a comeback, particularly in our towns, where it…

Aspen is a slender poplar tree that can be spotted on heathland and in woodlands, particularly in Scotland. It displays hanging catkins in spring and its fluttering leaves turn vibrant yellow in…

The nodding, pink-and-purple-chequered flowers of the snake's-head fritillary are said to resemble a snake, hence the name. Declining with the loss of our meadows, this delicate plant can be…