100 NATURE FINDS FOR 2021
SPRING
1 Forget-me-nots: pink-budded, sky-blue flowered, found in woods and in scree.
2 Narcissi: dissect into sepals, petals, corona, stamen, anthers and spathe.
3 Jasmine flowers: collect at dusk to make fragrant infused tea.
4 Earthworm castings: a sign that earthworms are tilling and fertilising the soil.
5 Snail shells: almost always right-coiled.
6 Sweet violets: distinctively scented native violet, with a candy perfume.
7 Herb robert: pink-flowered, red-stemmed, traditionally carried to bring good luck.
8 Pussy willow: pretty silky grey catkins found on goat or grey willow.
9 Hawthorn leaves: lobed leaves emerge before frothy white blooms.
10 Blackthorn: creamy white flowers appear before leaves. Return in autumn for sloes.
11 Cleavers (goosegrass): weave the sticky stems to make a primitive strainer for liquids.
12 Dandelion clock: closed seedheads placed in a dry spot open up over time.
13 Wild garlic: pungent early spring leaves and starry white flowers are both edible.
14 Mallard quills: look out for iridescent drake feathers shed after breeding.
15 Hazel catkins: spot hazel trees in hedgerows and on chalky soils by their golden tassels.
16 Blue eggshell fragments: from blackbirds, bullfinches, crows, dunnocks, magpies, song thrushes or starlings.
17 White eggshell fragments: from blue tits, collared doves, goldfinches, great tits, house sparrows or robins.
18 Magnolia petals: pickle edible flowers in rice vinegar and sugar. The flowers are a good source of nectar for pollinators.
19 Fieldstones: pushed up by soil freezing and thawing through winter.
20 European ash buds: black, rounded and in opposite pairs. Get to know your buds.
21 Alder buds: mauve and oblong from a common riverside tree.
22 Chrysalis cases: look under the leaves of butterfly caterpillar feeder plants.
23 Cocoons: spun by moth caterpillars to form tough outer pupal shells.
24 Fiddlehead ferns: coiled fronds slowly photosynthesise and strengthen as they unfurl.
25 Cow parsley: frothy white umbels are an early source of nectar for pollinators.
SUMMER
26 European robin feathers: find speckled juvenile feathers moulted in late summer.
27 Stag beetle: the largest of over 4,000 beetles in the UK, the stag beetle is a lover of rotten tree stumps.
28 22-spot ladybird: a pretty lemon-yellow insect with 22 distinctive black spots.
29 Swan feathers: the pristine white body, wing and tail feathers moult post-nesting.
30 Linden flowers: place in a cup of hot water to make a sweet, calming tea.
31 Sweet pea tendrils: the prettiest springy climbing aids.
32 English lavender stems: most aromatic in the morning and best picked before full bloom.
33 Cosmos blooms: a garden beauty named for the ‘order and harmony’ of its daisy-like petals. 34 Keyhole limpet shells: the handy hole on top is perfect for stringing the shells together.
35 Blue mussel shells: look for patches of nacre (mother-of-pearl) as layers wear away.
36 Driftwood: search on a full moon when higher- and lower-than-average tides reveal new treasures.
37 Sea pebbles: flint, chert, quartzite, limestone and granite are a few.
38 Ammonite fossils: spiral-shaped evidence of creatures that lived 201–66 million years ago.
39 Flint: historically used to make tools and start fires.
40 Jet: the inky black fossilised wood of ancient Jurassic-era forests.
41 Soil: it takes up to 1,000 years to form just 2.5cm of fertile earth.
42 Sand: rounded grains have travelled far, angular ones were weathered more recently.
43 Cornflowers: once a common sight in ancient British cornfields, cornflowers make a beautiful, edible blue dye.
44 Lemon balm: brew a refreshing hot or iced tea with the lemon-scented, mint-like leaves.
45 Elderflowers: musky-scented umbels attract pollinators and make sweet cordial. 46 Bumblebees: spot 24 British bumblebees by tail colours and banding.
47 Painted lady butterflies: these orange, black and white summer beauties mass migrate here every 10 years.
48 Bulrushes: the brown sausage-like flowerheads explode with seeds in late summer.
49 Fennel: press the flowers and eat the delicious anise-tasting pollen, seeds and leaves.
50 Runner bean: pods of bright pink and black ‘scarlet runner’ beans amaze every time.
51 Perspective: capture the view from the bottom and the top of a mountain or hill climb.
52 Amber: spot fragments of this fossilised resin after a storm on Suffolk’s Amber Coast; polishing reveals its beauty.
53 Wisteria bean: the most tactile grey velvety bean pods follow scented purple flowers.
54 Acorn: once an important source of food around the world.
55 Oak apple: caused by gall wasps invading leaf buds; it can be used to make ink.
56 Poppy seedhead: rattles when ripe. Use the star-shaped ends as a clay stamp.
57 Love-in-a-mist seedhead: rose-tinted, ethereally crowned, beautiful in wreaths or buttonholes.
58 Strawflowers: orange, pink, peach or white petals dry like straw and are perfect for using in dried-flower crafts.
59 Calendula flowers: orange and yellow flowers bloom from spring until frost; use in healing bath soaks and salves.
60 Brambles: tiny stems of dried blackberries are an evocative reminder of summer.
AUTUMN
61 Rose hips: appearing in oval red or globular orange, the hips only form where blooms have been left in place.
62 Rowan berry: rowans used to be planted by houses as protection against witches. Turn the scarlet berries into jam.
63 Conker: one of our most loved seeds from one of our biggest flowering plants.
64 Sweet chestnut: prise open lime green, spiky cases to reveal red-brown edible fruits.
65 Honesty: botanically named for its silvery moon-like capsules.
66 Reed: sharpen reed stems to make natural ink pens.
67 Ginkgo leaf: a one-of-a-kind ‘fossil plant’, producing carpets of golden, fan-shaped leaves in autumn.
68 Geode: a lucky strike on these magical hollow rocks may reveal a kingdom of sparkling crystals inside.
69 Michaelmas daisy: named for purple daisy-like blooms around Michaelmas Day, on 29 September.
70 Sunflower: follow the Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…) in the seed spirals.
71 Teasel: loved by goldfinches, these are traditionally used to comb wool.
72 Hornbeam tassels: papery green-winged samaras produced after wind pollination.
73 Sweet gum: the star-shaped leaves turn brilliant orange, red and purple in autumn.
74 Sycamore wings: paired samaras rotate in the wind, helping seeds travel further from the tree.
WINTER
75 Chicken of the woods: a sulphur-yellow bracket fungi often found on oak and cherry trunks.
76 Fly agaric: highly toxic red-and-whitespotted fairy toadstool. Look but don’t touch.
77 Barnacle lichen: tiny, white, barnacle-like; an ancient woodland indicator.
78 Common yellow lichen: bright yellow or grey-green foliose or leafy lichen found on tree bark or inland rocks.
79 Firethorn fruit: clusters of flame red or orange pomes, loved by foraging birds.
80 Winter jasmine: brightening up winter with yellow star-shaped blooms.
81 Yarrow: traditionally used to stem wounds; sometimes flowers in winter.
82 Ivy: spot greenish-black fruits where sunlight has encouraged ivy blooms.
83 European holly: collect shiny leaves and berries for festive wreaths. 84 Christmas rose: dark leathery evergreen leaves and lovely five-sepalled blooms.
85 Eucalyptus: breathe in the scent of the aromatic peeling bark and grey-green leaves.
86 Witch hazel: enlivening winter with sweetscented, flame-coloured spidery flowers.
87 Pine cones: open on dry days, closed on wet ones. Compare a pair.
88 Leaf skeletons: an ode to leaf veins; look for them under trees and shrubs.
89 Tree rings: one for every cycle of seasons; try dating a tree stump or fallen branch.
90 Sphagnum moss: forming vital living carpets in peat bogs, marsh and moorland.
91 Swan’s-neck thyme moss: a common woodland moss, abundant on tree bases and rotting wood.
92 Springy turf moss: red-stemmed, found on damp turf, including lawns.
93 Old man’s beard: creeps around hedgerows in a mass of beard-like seedheads.
94 Beech leaves: saplings keep their leaves in winter; hear them dancing in the wind.
95 Grapevine: gather dormant leafless vines in winter to make charcoal and wreaths.
96 Animal footprints: make a plaster cast of clear ones; try to identify your finds.
97 Scotch broom: tough evergreen leaves, black seedpods and yellow pea-like flowers; a shrub for all seasons.
98 Rosebay willowherb: also known as fireweed; use feathered seeds as tinder.
99 Silver birch: an ancient symbol of purification and renewal; forage for a branch with which to usher in the new year.
100 Sunrise and sunset: capture on camera or in your mind’s eye; stop and feel the joy.