The speed I’m trying to accumulate botanical information can be overwhelming at times. The one thing which stops me collapsing under a heap of scrappy plant samples is my trusty botany notebook. This isn’t the little field log I take out with me on expeditions but one I use at home for saving useful id tips, thinking through identifications and keeping pressed weeds.

Alongside the set of botany flashcards I’ve made, this is probably the single most useful thing for keeping me sane as I approach the terrifying halfway point of my year of wildflower learning.