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Grow don’t mow this summer
If you are lucky enough to have a garden with a lawn, May is a great month to let your garden grow, leave your lawn mower in the shed and let nature do its thing
Insects you can get to know this summer
Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust volunteer and amateur entomologist Kate Nightingale highlights some common insects you may spot in August and September. This is the second in a series…
Keeled skimmer
The Keeled skimmer is a dragonfly of heaths and commons with shallow pools. It has a skittish and weak flight, and is on the wing in summer and early autumn.
Wild thyme
The delightful fragrance of wild thyme can punctuate a summer walk over a chalk grassland. It forms low-growing mats with dense clusters of purple-pink flowers.
Wild privet
Wild privet is a shrub of hedgerows, woodlands and scrub, but is also a popular garden-hedge plant. It has white flowers in summer and matt-black berries in winter that are very poisonous.
Wild marjoram
Wild marjoram is actually the same aromatic herb as oregano which is used in Mediterranean cooking. Its small, pink flower clusters can be seen on chalk and limestone grasslands in summer.
Black-tailed skimmer
The Black-tailed skimmer is a narrow-bodied dragonfly that can be seen flying low over the bare gravel and mud around flooded gravel pits and reservoirs. It is on the wing from May to August.
Wild cherry
The mass of white, frothy blossom on a wild cherry is a sight to behold. Planted as an ornamental tree, it also grows wild in woods and hedges. Its red fruits are the edible cherries we know and…
Wild angelica
The red-tinged, flower clusters of Wild angelica smell just like the garden variety, which is used in making cake decorations. Wild angelica likes damp places, such as wet meadows and wet…
Wild strawberry
The Wild strawberry produces miniature, edible versions of the juicy red fruits we so enjoy. Gathering wild food can be fun, but it's best to do it with an expert - come along to a Wildlife…
Wild carrot
Wild carrot does, indeed, smell of carrots, but the roots are not like our cultivated, dinnertime favourite. Look for this umbellifer on chalk grasslands and coasts.