“No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”

Sir David Attenborough has spoken, and who would contradict him? And so, at least once a month, I go out into the stunning Essex countryside to experience the natural world that I care so much about.

As a member of the Essex Wildlife Trust, I tend to be drawn to their sites, but I also venture to other conservation areas and projects and bring back images of and information about some of the “wild gems” I encounter along the way. Previous editions of these blog posts can be found here, or there’s a complete gallery here.

This month’s site

Cards on the table, I am very much stretching the definition of ‘wild’ this month by bringing you a selection of photos from the Oxford Botanic Garden. But I happened to be passing through the city, and I’d wanted to see it ever since the tear-jerking final scene of Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials series. And whilst it was still a little early to see the garden in its full bloom (especially given how cold it’s been), there was still plenty to see and share. So here we go!

This month’s wild gems

And as a bonus, here are a selection of plants that live in the garden’s glasshouses. They’re definitely gems, but they’re also definitely not wild! I also have no idea what most of them are, and it was a bit too crammed for me to stop and take a picture of every single label. So I present them to you as simply beautiful plants, with no further explanation!