The Wild Flower Society now has a YouTube channel onto which talks are uploaded. Search “Wild Flower Society” on the YouTube search or, alternatively, go to our website, click on “Events”, then “Online Meetings” and you will find a link to our YouTube channel.
| Presenter | Title of Meeting | Day of the week | Month | Date |
| Karen Van Oostrum | Introduction to Common Wild Flower Families: Buttercups and Campions | Mon | Jan | 19 |
| Cabbages and Roses | Mon | Feb | 2 | |
| Peas and Geraniums | Mon | Feb | 16 | |
| Lizzie Maddison | Carrots and Dead-nettles | Mon | March | 2 |
| Dave Barlow | Plantains and Bedstraws | Mon | March | 16 |
| Nick Sturt | Daisies and Grasses | Mon | March | 30 |
| Trevor Dines | Untangling the Urban Jungle | Wed | Oct | 14 |
| Megan John | Plants: the heroes of a modern medic’s toolkit | Wed | Nov | 11 |
| Peter Llewellyn | The Extraordinary Flowers of Western Australia | Thurs | Dec | 3 |
An introduction to 12 common wildflower families.
Following the success of the online Beginner’s Course in 2025, this year there will be a six-session course in the early part of the year looking at various plant families. The course is open to all members of the Wild Flower Society.
The course will consist of six one-hour online sessions and will be delivered by Karen Van Oostrum in early 2026. Karen was previously Head of Education at Cambridge University Botanic Garden, a role which included writing and delivering botany courses for adult education classes. She is an Associate Tutor for the Field Studies Council and runs online courses for local Wildlife Trusts.
Overview of the Course
There are around 3,000 species of wildflowers in Britain, and collectively they exhibit incredible diversity. This great variety in form, colour and arrangement is what draws many of us to the study of wildflowers. But while it is beautiful and fascinating, it can also feel overwhelming — especially when you’re just starting out. How do you begin to make sense of it all?
Wild flower species are categorised into plant families, and by familiarising yourself with the most common ones, you’ll start to see this diversity in a new light. This course introduces the key features that define each common family, enabling you to identify the families of wild flowers you encounter in the field. Over time, this approach will help you use field guides more effectively, notice connections between related species, and better remember what you’ve seen when you come across it again.
Each session will finish with a time for Q&A
Session 1 – 19th Jan 2026: Course introduction
The Buttercup Family – Ranunculaceae
The Campion Family – Caryophyllaceae
Session 2 – 2nd Feb 2026:
The Cabbage Family – Brassicaceae
The Rose Family – Rosaceae
Session 3 – 16th Feb 2026:
The Pea Family – Fabaceae
The Geranium Family – Geraniaceae
Session 4 – 2nd March 2026:
The Carrot Family – Apiaceae
The Dead-nettle Family – Lamiaceae
Session 5 – 16th March 2026:
The Plantain Family – Plantaginaceae
The Bedstraw Family – Rubiaceae
Session 6 – 30th March 2026:
The Daisy Family – Asteraceae
The Grass Family – Poaceae
To register your interest in the course email wfs.meetings@gmail.com
Wednesday 14th October 19:00-20:00
Untangling the Urban Jungle with Trevor Dines
Trevor’s groundbreaking book, Urban Plants, has generated renewed interest in the flora of urban environments. This tour of our streets, pavements, walls, verges and urban fallow (waste ground) will investigate how plants cope with these incredibly tough environments, and how dynamic the flora is, with the constant prospect of new and exciting species from all around the world to be discovered. You’ll never look at a wall or pavement in the same way again!
Trevor Dines is a freelance botanist and author, and a Trustee of the BSBI.
Wednesday 11th November 19.00 -20.00
Plants; the heroes of a modern medic’s toolkit with Megan John
As a Fellow of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries (founders of the Chelsea Physic garden in 1673), combined with her work at the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence Megan is able to give us a glimpse into the Society’s archives and how, in 2026, plants still lead the way in the future of medicine. Learn how plants and their flowers remain pivotal in the prescriptions we need today and our hopes for human health in the future.
Dr Megan John is Chair of NICE medicines appraisal committee
Thursday 4th December 19:00-20:00
The Extraordinary Flowers of Western Australia with Peter Llewellyn
Peter has been botanising in Western Australia since 2007 and has photographed many of the wonderful and truly weird plants of that huge area. As well as over 50 slides of flowers, the talk will include accounts of some of the strange pollination mechanisms which would astound a British botanist. The origins of some of the outrageous if not disgraceful common names given to plants by ordinary Australians will also be described, so people with a refined sense of decorum and good taste should not attend this talk.
Thie talk will not be recorded.
Peter Llewellyn is Chair of the Wild Flower Society