Our resident flora is packed full of botanical delights. There are plants that poison predators, fight battles and play mind games with pollinators. We have climbers and carnivores, puppeteers and parasites. Some are giants thousands of years old, while others are tiny pinpricks a millimetre across. Botanising – the simple act of wandering along and noticing the wild plants growing around you – is an activity that’s full of joy and excitement. If you don’t believe me, have a read of these…
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Where the Wildflowers Grow:
My Botanical Journey Through Britain and Ireland
Hodder & Stoughton
Shortlisted for the Richard Jefferies Award (2022)
Longlisted for the Wainwright Prize (2023)
‘When was the last time you stopped and noticed a wild plant?’ An intriguing and timely exploration of the importance of Britain and Ireland’s plant life.
Leif Bersweden has always been fascinated by wild plants. From a young age, his afternoons were spent hunting for and cataloguing the plants in his local area. But it is a landscape that is fast disappearing. Climate change, habitat destruction and declining pollinator populations mean that the future for plant life looks bleaker than ever before. Many of us are also unable to identify, or even notice, the plants that grow around us.
Available in all major bookshops and online
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The Orchid Hunter:
A Young Botanist’s Search for Happiness
Short Books (Octopus)
Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards (2018)
In the summer after leaving school, a young botanist sets out to fulfil a childhood dream – to find every species of orchid native to the British Isles.
Battling the vagaries of the British climate in his clapped-out car, Leif Bersweden has just a few months to do what no one has ever done before: to complete this quest within one growing season.
This study of the 52 native species is a fantastic gateway into the compendious world of orchids, and one that will open your eyes to the rare hidden delights to be found on the doorstep.
Available in all major bookshops and online
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Winter Trees:
A photographic guide to common trees and shrubs
FSC Publications
Identifying trees in winter without their familiar leaves can apear a daunting challenge, but a closer look will reveal a multitude of slowly swelling buds. A quick glance at the bud summary photos in this guide instantly reveals their sheer diversity. Generally they are extremely varied, and often easy to learn and remember. When you consider the difference between types of bark, size of tree and habitat, identification starts to become much easier than it seemed at first.
This AIDGAP guide covers 36 of the common broad-leaved deciduous species, or groups of species, that are most likely to be found in the UK, as well as a few rarer trees.
Available online
Free download of Winter Trees: a key to common trees and shrubs
from The Species Recovery Trust here
Leif Bersweden 