***New Book Release***

The Stour Valley Supporters were very lucky to get hold of a signed copy of the newly released book ‘Flowers in the Field’ by Faith Anstey. This is a pioneering book which opens a door into the wonderful world of wild flowers.

If you have ever ventured along the Stour without the guidance of our local experts Gillie Hayball or Richard Hesketh to hand and pondered on the name of a particular flower (and played snap with your field guide as the author would refer to it!) then this book is for you. The book aims to give you the knowledge to be able to identify wild flowers with confidence and takes the guesswork out of the task. You will be able to arm yourself with the facts and knowledge about the structure of the plants, how the plant kingdom is organised and how to use botanical keys. It took me back to my school days reading once more about stigmas, styles and stamen, but this time I found it far more interesting  as I was reading it for pleasure and not because the teacher told me to! It even made sense as I dissected a wild flower from my garden (not sure if it can be truly classed as wild as I had sown the seeds there!?) and looked at all the parts in detail. Once armed with the dissected pieces and the sketch I’d made and the notes about its petals and sepals and so forth I confidently tallied up these details with the guides on pages 105 and 106, and it was a cinch to confirm my find (Ranunculus acris or Meadow Buttercup) with my trusty fieldguide.

The book contains plenty of pictures and drawings to guide you on your way and is written in a very easy going (whilst being highly informed) way that will entertain you from beginning to end. Now when Richard points out a Herb robert I will recognise it myself because I understand its structure and can distinguish how many petals it has, how the flowers and leaves are arranged on the stem and what family it fits into, and not just because he told me that’s what it was!

A copy is available for supporters to view in The Barn and can be purchased on Amazon.

Do you have a fieldguide, nature guide or bird watching book that you can’t live without? Would you like to recommend it here to other SVS Members? Please let us know using the Contact Us form.