With a premise that plants need the same help as animals but can’t move, Leif wanted to be connecting people with plants so that they could capture the joy and excitement of plants and to dispel the attitude that plants are boring.
Having found that botany books weren’t very helpful Leif embarked on a year long cycle ride through Great Britain and Ireland. Leif met a great range of experts in his travels and the mode of transport meant that he could just stop if spotting anything of interest. As well as common plants such as Daisy, Bluebell, Dandelion and Poppy which are easily recognisable there were plants with strange adaptations. These include the Cuckoo-pint or Lords and Ladies which when ripe generates heat to emit a smell attractive to insects, the Sundew which is carnivorous, Thyme Broomrape which parasites on wild Thyme and the Fly Orchid which resembles a fly in order to attract pollinating flies.
The journey included the best varied botanical landscapes of coastal paths, bluebell woods, hay meadows, poppy fields and aquatic areas. This involved journeys to the Scottish Highlands and Shetland, South Downs Way, County Londonderry, County Kerry, the Norfolk Broads and others. The start came on New Year’s Day in Westminster where he found a Shaggy Soldier, Galinsoga Quadriradiata, but he spent so long admiring the plant that he was moved on for disturbing the peace. Of all the plants encountered the favourite turned out to be the carnivorous Bladderwort found in the Norfolk Broads. The plant spends the summer floating on the surface then deflates in winter and sinks to avoid the cold. The Autumn included visits to beaches and sand dunes where Marram Grass grows and helps to stabilise the dunes with its matted fibrous roots.
Many plants are now in decline for various reasons including overgrazing, climate change and destruction of pollinators and habitats. All the information contained in the talk can be found at https://www.wherethewildflowersgrow.co.uk/
