After working as a botanist and natural historian for more than 25 years, walking the countryside had almost imperceptibly turned into a disheartening endeavour for Pete Stroh. He found himself resting at viewpoints and contemplating how much better it would be if a pasture had not been drenched with herbicide, if a woodland had not been planted up with regimented lines of conifer crops, if an arable field could every so often not be ploughed right up to the bloody roots of the hedgerow…

So he decided that in writing  this book, he would wander within the boundaries of the parish where he lives, record weekly what he actually saw, and restrict grumblings to a minimum, to observe rather than judge. This, he writes, took a bit of getting used to but proved ultimately to be a liberating and unexpected experience.

The result is this uplifting and positive book showing the surprising abundance of nature, given half a chance.

Pete Stroh is an accidental botanist who has worked professionally in the field of natural history for the past 25 years. He is the author of numerous scientific papers, is a regular contributor to British Wildlife magazine, and has published several books about the flora of our Isles, including Grassland plants of the British and Irish lowlands, Threatened Plants in Britain & Ireland, and Plant Atlas 2020.

Originally hailing from south Devon, he has been based in the north of Northamptonshire since the turn of the century following a largely bohemian existence in Scotland for much of the 1990s, when amongst other things he worked in a record shop, ventured up munros, frequented late-night bakeries, and lived for a time with ospreys.