Flowers of the Field A Secret History of Meadow, Moor and Wood

About this book

From the machair grasslands of the Outer Hebrides to the chalk cliffs of Kent, and from the dense pinewoods of Abernethy forest to the wetlands of the Fens of eastern England, Britain offers a richly varied array of habitats for our wild flowers.

The distinguished science and natural history producer and filmmaker Steve Nicholls presents a visually stunning survey of Britain's best-loved wildflowers, illustrated with the his own beautiful photographs of flora in their habitat. Focusing on three broad habitats – grassland, open land and woodland – he offers a biologically rigorous but engagingly readable account of our wild flowers and the places that nourish them.

He probes deep into the social and cultural history of wild flowers to tell a plethora of fascinating stories, from the 'daffodil trains' which transported Londoners to the 'golden triangle' in Gloucestershire to experience woodlands carpeted with wild daffodils, to the odd case of the Bath asparagus – which isn't an asparagus at all, but rather the edible flower buds of the rare spiked star of Bethlehem, which used to grow in abundance around Bath.

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Biography

Steve Nicholls has spent thirty years making wildlife films, including ten with the BBC Natural History Unit. He holds a PhD on dragonflies. His plant photographs have won several awards in the prestigious International Garden Photographer of the Year competition. He is the author of Paradise Found: Nature in America at the Time of Discovery (2009).