Nature for Absolute Beginners: ​Prickly & Autumnal Plants

I had never really noticed the prickly plants in my area until I started photographing nature during lockdown. As I took more and more photos, I realised that there were many different species of thistles in the Chilterns, as well as other types of spiny plants. It made me wonder about why plants have these spines. You can read about what I discovered in the following article, which was published in The Henley Standard on 1 October 2021. I'm also featuring 12 of the autumnal plants you'll be seeing in early autumn.