With lightening nights, the ever-increasing sounds of birds in the trees and colour creeping across the landscape, it’s time to dust off the winter blues and embrace the beauty of the oncoming spring.

Getting out and about in early spring can be so rewarding, never more-so than when we explore local woodland and take in the delights of light-dappled floors and stretches of plucky colour along paths.

Wonderful spectacles that we should make the effort to find and enjoy

There are those certain flowers we expect to see – wild daffodils a real treat and the beautiful lilac of native bluebells flooding woodland floors; both wonderful spectacles that we should always make the effort to find and enjoy for the short time they’re with us each year.

Both of these flowers have suffered from habitat loss and are at risk from hybridisation. The Spanish bluebell encroaches on the native common bluebell and wild daffodils declined in large numbers through the 19th century, with the disappearance of many of our woodlands and meadows – as well as the risk of hybridisation from garden varieties.

A shining example of how we can all help to save nature

However, strong conservation efforts between organisations, volunteers and residents of local communities means the two species are not lost in Gloucestershire. Wonderful representations of thriving populations of both native species can be seen in the county – a shining example of how we can all help to save nature, whether we’re actively getting our hands dirty or supporting conservation through membership and donations.

One woodland plant that is abundant in our county is usually smelt before it is seen. For lovers of garlic, walking into a wood scented with their favourite allium is nothing short of heaven. Swathes of plump green clumps and crowns of delicate white flowers can mean only one thing – wild garlic (or ramsons) for dinner. The leaves of the plant add a subtle flavour to dishes and can be found in most damp woodlands in spring – but make sure you know what you’re foraging. If in doubt, don’t pick.

Another woodland delight, often overlooked, is lesser celandine. Flowering from late February, this buttercup-like low-growing plant carpets woodland floors, hedgerows and river banks – green and bright yellow in colour. Look closely and you’ll see the heart shape of the leaves and the glossy sheen of the flowers. It’s not hard to see why William Wordsworth was such a fan.

White flowers resemble stars on a green night sky

Last but not least, wood anemone is always worth seeking out. Flowering around the same time as wild daffodils, its white flowers resemble stars on a green night sky. Easily recognisable from its white or purple streaked petals, yellow centre and thin red stem. This is another of our native species that it’s important we take care of. Its seeds are largely infertile, so it spreads via the growth of roots. However, this is so slow that it can take many years to cover even a small distance.