I love Nature’s calendar, it really gives you something to look forward to as the seasons change.

Bluebells and wild garlic in spring, field of orchids in summer, red and orange leaves on trees in autumn and red holly berries heralding winter, and providing food for our birds.

And there’s something quite special about taking it all back home with you and reading more about your passion in a good book.

Alan Waterman’s Woodland Wild Flowers: Through the Seasons (Merlin Unwin) is exactly that. It transports you into the woods to discover some of our favourite UK flowers and takes you through the “six” seasons – early spring, late spring, early summer, high summer, autumn and winter.

You can luxuriate in greater stitchwort, wood sorrel and creeping buttercup but not nettles. Every page is a colourful dive into our diverse and beautiful woodland carpets.

A director of the Field Study Centre, Alan tells us stories about his local woodland and his own experiences and educates us with all the floral characteristics and some of the wildlife that depends on it.

Rosebay willowherb – “After the Second World War when there were lots of bomb sites around, this plant spread rapidly to colonise what were often inner cities. During that period the plant became known as ‘bombweed.’”

Alan looks at how woodland is managed to create perfect habitats for flowers and how the landscape has changed over the centuries.

It is real “dipper inner” of a book and it will offer memories of today’s walk or countryside strolls in the distant past. Thoroughly recommended.

To read the article online or to find out about the work of the Wildlife Trust and how you can become a member, visit their website: https://www.lancswt.org.uk/blog/alan-wright/woodland-wild-flowers-book-review