Take your pick ... 12 flowers you’re encouraged to take

ANY self-respecting lover of the British countryside knows that wildflowers are to be admired, but never picked.

But that advice is about to be turned on its head after conservation charity Plantlife drew up a list of 12 wild blooms it says are OK to pluck and take home. The list, including dandelions, primroses and daisies, has been announced alongside a ‘code of conduct’ ahead of Great British Wildflower Hunt – designed to get more youngsters involved in nature. But beekeepers are opposed to the move because they think people could damage or destroy the environment by digging up the plants, which is still illegal in the UK.

Marian Spain, chief executive of Plantlife International, told BBC Radio 4: ‘We are saying something unusual but actually as a nation we’re facing an even bigger risk that our children have less and less contact with wildlife. We think that if we say to children “you can’t touch flowers, you can’t pick them” we turn them off. What we want is for people to learn more about wildflowers and know what’s around them.’

The Wildflower Hunt encourages the public to search for 68 different species.