Towns and gardens
The green spaces of our towns and gardens bring nature into our daily lives, brightening our mornings with birdsong and the busy buzzing of bees. Together, the UK's gardens are larger than…
The green spaces of our towns and gardens bring nature into our daily lives, brightening our mornings with birdsong and the busy buzzing of bees. Together, the UK's gardens are larger than…
The peppered moth is renowned for its markings that have evolved to camouflage it against lichen in the countryside and soot in the city. It can be seen in gardens, woods and parks, and along…
At night, the pretty, white blooms of white campion produce a heady scent, attracting feeding moths. Look for this wildflower along hedgerows and roadside verges, and on waste ground.
The wild rock dove is the ancestor to what is probably our most familiar bird - the feral pigeon, which is often found in large numbers in our towns and cities.
Bell heather is our most familiar heather. In summer, it carpets our heaths, woods and coasts with purple-pink flowers that attract all kinds of nectar-loving insects.
Look for common toadflax on waste ground and grassland, and along roadside verges and hedgerows. Its yellow-and-orange flowers are tightly packed on a tall spike and have distinctive 'spurs…
Often growing in swathes along a roadside or field margin, the oxeye daisy is just as at home in traditional hay meadows. The large, white, daisy-like flowers are easy to identify.
Common alder can be found along riversides, and in fens and wet woodlands. Its exposed roots provide shelter for fish, and its rounded leaves are food for aquatic insects.
Despite its name, Common knotgrass is not a grass, but is actually related to the docks. It has wiry stems that grow along the ground, and is a weed of waste ground, gardens and arable fields.
The striking red twigs and crimson, autumnal leaves of Dogwood make this small shrub an attractive ornamental plant. It can be seen growing wild along woodland edges and hedgerows.
The brown long-eared bat certainly lives up to its name: its ears are nearly as long as its body! Look out for it feeding along hedgerows, and in gardens and woodland.
Star-of-Bethlehem' and 'wedding cakes' are just some of the other names for greater stitchwort. Look for its pretty, star-shaped, white flowers in woodlands and along hedgerows and…