Sharing the health benefits of plants 

Known as the Misty Isle, the Isle of Skye in the north-west of Scotland experiences a mainly mild, wet climate. Due to westerly winds from the sea, this is one of the windiest places in the UK [1]. It has its fair share of storms and horizontal rain. This means that plants (and locals) here have to be fairly hardy to survive. It is also a place of immense beauty and walking in such magnificent scenery is, in itself, a remedy. Filipendula ulmaria For twenty four years, my mot

Walking impacts almost every system of our body. Some of the physical benefits of walking, such as the strengthening of bones and muscles and the improvement of posture, are well-known. However, there are many more ways that walking in nature impacts our health. Here are just five of them : 1. Improves cognition and memory Working-memory capacity and creativity have been shown to improve after a walk in nature. The exact mechanisms for this are not fully understood. One possi

Thorns aside, blackberry picking is a fun activity for all ages. As a child growing up in the UK, my nanna (grandmother) would take us...

Imagine, if you will, a well-organised botanical garden on a hillside facing snow-covered mountains and a fjord. You wander through a...

Elverhøy is situated on the summit of Tromsø island in northern Norway. In June this pleasant residential area is home to neatly mown...

Spring plant walks are full of surprises! On a recent plant walk with a friend, we were passing by a shrub when the overwhelming sweet...

Regardless of the season, each walk is an opportunity to discover plants at various stages in their life cycles. On this drizzly Sunday...

Winter is an invitation to observe the finer details of the natural world. In temperate regions the vibrant colours of the spring, summer and autumn have faded away leaving a barer landscape. I love going out on the crisp,cold mornings when the sky is blue and the frost highlights parts of the plants I don’t often notice. Here are three examples from a recent frosty morning walk. Firstly, I notice the veins of this Comfrey leaf which are clearly outlined by the white ice cry

Leaves come in many shapes and sizes. This is a brief introduction to seven details on a simple leaf that can help with plant...

How can we identify a plant ? It is estimated that there are over 350,000 species of plants worldwide...

Names provide us with information about a plant, for example its characteristics, its uses, its botanical features. Plants generally have...

Plants are incredible organisms. Aside from being an essential part of our ecosystem and providing the earth with oxygen through...