It's a truly inspiring novel from a gifted young writer, who also happens to be a botanist! My only gripe is the realisation that 60% of my children are older than Leif, making me feel a little bit ancient ... On a tall herbaceous perennial, these familiar shallow pincushions of violet-blue swing about on verges in late summer Written in the first person, with imagery rich, detailed explanations, Leif takes his inspiration from other naturalists. He has an engaging, in the moment, writing style, accessible to older children and adults. But it's not just about the plants. A medium-height buttercup of compacted grassland, readily identifiable from its reflexed sepals under each shining bloom

I think this will be a story that I can reread again and again because of the fluidity of the writing and the overall storyline. You learn a lot about the prejudice that happened years ago and how the characters learn to evolve through all of it throughout their lives into adulthood. If I could give this book more than five stars than I would and I can not wait to start in on another Vera Jane Cook novel that I am sure will delight me just as much as these last two have! I bought this book with the specific goal of helping inspire me to find out a lot more about the flora I encounter when out walking, in the various differing habitats I enjoy (although everyone know hillsides are best!). I find that while guides such as Streeter's Collins one are botanically comprehensive, they're not really inspiring; I thought this book would approach flora-spotting from a different and more engaging perspective, and I was not wrong. Honestly, though, this is a lovely book written by a person who earnestly loves plants. In a country with so little nature left and so little endemic biodiversity, this is particularly endearing. Leif's publisher was kind enough to send me a proof copy of this book - exactly a year to the day before I finished reading - thank you! It's taken me a while to get to this one (you don't want to see the various teetering TBR piles scattered around my room) but I am so so glad that I finally did.

A gentle enjoyable slow book which I somehow (and gratefully) managed to miss was a 'year of' endeavour, even though it starts with a New Year's Day urban plant hunt with his Mum. Leif Bersweden is one of those rare people who are almost born with a passion for botany (cf growing things which is much more common) and in this book he wears it lightly enough to be accessible for those less committed. It's just him travelling about by bike and train going to see plants (and areas) and meeting people. Which doesn't mean that he doesn't get very excited about finds and he does convey the pleasures of looking at small things very closely, but overall it isn't a confected emotional roller coaster of a book with suspense and disappointment. This book is absolutely gripping. Right from the start you get caught up in this southern saga. This book is so well written with its great character development and excellent descriptions - you almost feel like you are watching a movie, but you might want to close your eyes to parts of it! Big blue, white or violet flowers on a handsome plant, one of the signatures of midsummer in limestone grassland and verges It's the 1960's south and the Cassidy family seems like the perfect southern family to all the town folks who live in the same town. They seem to have it all and are well respected. Ryan Cassidy is a doctor with two beautiful children and a wife. He is considered to be a pillar of the community. However, what may seem perfect on the outside, has many secrets on the inside and little by little this perfect family starts to unravel and their secrets seem to be coming to the surface. Leif’s new book, Where the Wildflowers Grow, follows him on that journey as he botanises his way through an entire calendar year, meeting our plants, telling their stories and exploring people’s connection to their local flora.

A shallow dome of blue-green, waxy leaves on a shingle foreshore, with richly scented off-white flowers on top Ryan was constantly one that was searching for more and more. He seemed that he was never satisfied with anything including his marriage. He has many times where he makes mistakes, but this let’s the reader know that he is struggling to eventually find what makes him happy. Growing from a man who was at first very centered around himself to a person that cares a lot about people around him. One thing I truly enjoyed was that he became a better father figure as he got older compared to when he was younger. It’s nice to see people learn from what they were doing wrong and change those things to make an ultimately better life for themselves and everyone around them.

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Lily and Dalton were also characters that were interesting to get wrapped in. Lily had known love when she was younger and as steadily trying to find this again when she got older. She gets in and out of relationships without care to try and find her ultimate happiness. dalton is only thirteen years old and is trying his best to protect his sister. He moves into his adult life and becomes a teacher and a Priest. It’s amazing how people’s lives can change so dramatically. Pierce was also a character that I was not sure about at the beginning but he is also turned out to be one of my favorites along the way. Leif Bersweden has been fascinated by wild plants for as long as he can remember. As a child, he would spend his afternoons collecting the various leaves and flowers that he found. Being given a digital camera meant that he could collect a digital record and he would then fill notebooks with his findings.

I think he's also very inspiring. We're the same age, and I never thought that anything I did in concerns to nature preservation would ever matter that much, but seeing him travel around Britain and Ireland, and especially hearing of Ellen Hutchins in the 1800's, has made me feel like what I do does matter, and that doing more isn't out of reach. Both of them have become major role models for me. Flowering shyly by the woodland edge, this familiar plant’s little stars of blue and pink are known to every dog-walker I was feeling considerably better than I had been at the beginning of the morning, so after some soup and crusty bread I headed into Central London to conduct a second Hunt. I was curious: Westminster in midwinter is probably the last place and time you would think to go plant hunting. I wondered what was growing there, unseen in plain sight. You can also work with your local community, school or council to get permission to introduce wildflowers to community green spaces, playing fields and parks.Flowers evolved for reproduction and, in their simplest form, the fertile structures at the centre – the plant’s private parts – consist of the female stigma and pollen-covered male stamens. Pollen is transferred from the stamens of one plant to the stigmas of another, which initiates seed production. A typical flower has a ring of green, leaf-like flaps called sepals that protect the unopened bud. When the flower opens, these shadow the petals, which are usually brightly coloured and serve to attract pollinators. Like earlier stated I was given this book by the author/publisher to give my unbiased and honest opinion. While most people don’t think beyond the modest white and yellow blooms in their lawn, this is a plant with a rich cultural history. It features in folklore, mythology and medicine. In the sixteenth century the Daisy was used in herbal remedies for fever. The folk name ‘Bone Flower’ tells of its reputation for treating broken bones, and Roman physicians made use of its astringent properties to heal wounds suffered by soldiers in battle. Plants offer us a window to the past and, like the links in a Daisy chain, they connect us through time. From compacted pastures to suburban lawns, the Anglo-Saxon ‘Day’s Eye’ is a familiar image of retiring modesty Dozens of them erupted from the grassy bank outside a house on the north coast of the Isle of Wight,’ Alan added. ‘Then, I bought a house there myself and found that they grew in the rough turf of my garden, which was a dream come true. Despite their capricious nature, they remain my favourite.’

There is a lot of sex (but not overly graphic) in this book, but surprisingly, it didn't bother me! It just felt like it needed to be there. This is such a sad, and in a way, disturbing story. Its a story of sex, lies, and murder in the 1960's (which is when I was born, BTW). This bicycle Odyssey of Britain and Ireland's wild flora is joyous, inspirational and beautifully observed. In Leif Bersweden our wild flowers have found both their rhapsodist and their champion." The Cassidys might look like an exemplary family, but if you look closely, you will find out some of their issues, which even they still don’t know they have. Lily Cassidy, a girl of sixteen, has her first serious relationship with a boy called Pierce; the problem is that her younger brother, Dalton, has seen them and gets to the conclusion that he has to do something to defend Lily’s virtue. Ryan Cassidy, their father, is worried because he is sure he is falling in love with the last of his lovers and, besides, he is noticing that his daughter Lily is spending too much time with his bastard son, Pierce. Of course nobody but Pierce’s mother and Ryan himself knows about that affair that happened so long ago. Finally, Rose Cassidy, the mother, is beginning to feel sexually attracted towards a member of the women’s club – a woman, no need to say.

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We have carpets of them at Gravetye and the sight of their brilliant gold through the meadow, signalling the start of spring, is one of the most marvellous things in the year.’