Britain has lost ninety-seven percent of its wildflower meadows since the end of the second world war, a very sad state of affairs.

However, we can still find wild flowers in many locations and from June we can enjoy ox-daisies, dog roses, buttercups, various orchids and many more.

All those species thrive along motorway verges but obviously we can't spare them more than a very quick glance for safety reasons.

Dog or ox-eye daisies are my favourite flowers because of their sheer simplicity. Daisy is a corruption of 'day's eye', alluding to the yellow sun's disc surrounded by white petals or rays.

The term 'dog' is I feel rather unfortunate meaning of little worth, but the 'dog' rose (pictured) has been a symbol of the British monarchy for generations.

The ancient Greeks called the wild rose 'dog' rose because they believed that it's boiled roots could cure a man bitten by a mad dog!

Romans then adopted the name 'rosa canina' thence translated into English. The rose hips are rich in vitamin C and made into a syrup.

So, lying in a summer meadow surrounded by ox-eye daisies, buttercups and orchids, with grasshoppers ziz-ziz-zizzing in the grass and skylarks singing high above is pure magic.