THE flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la! This is the best time of year for wild flowers. Even now, when so many fields and hedges are trimmed and treated, nature has a way of fighting back. Wild flower meadows as we used to know them might be a thing of the past, but there are still plenty of corners where flowers blossom happily.

If you are out and about over the holiday weekend, you might be lucky enough to spot plenty. But do you know what they are?

For many of us, the last time we had to name a wild flower was when it was our turn to do the nature table back in junior school. But knowing what you're looking at does increase your pleasure, so we've spent a pleasant few hours strolling through some of the wild flower guides.

Some are easier to use than others. A lot easier.

They divide into two main types. There are those which divide plants up into their different families which are all very correct and proper and fine if you already know a little something, or are prepared to find out more.

But not much use if you're standing in a path looking at something and saying "Well, it's little, with funny shaped leaves and it's sort of blueish." Which is why the rest of the guides start you off on "sort of blueish" and take it from there - which is a lot easier for absolute beginners, even if experts might sniff at such an approach.

Talking of sniffing - as so many plants have a distinctive smell, isn't it time someone brought out a scratch and sniff wild flower guide?

COLLINS WILD FLOWERS OF BRITAIN AND EUROPE (£16.99)

This calls itself " the first photographic field guide that has been specifically designed to be used in the field". Maybe, but it is the approximate size and weight of a house brick.

It tells you everything and is brilliant for people who have a decent knowledge, or for keen naturalists travelling out of their own home patch.

But it's also excellent for beginners because it sorts its plants by colour - which makes it very easy for even the dimmest to find out what the plant they're looking at is. The first part of the book consists of photographs, most of which are fairly good and clear, if a bit small. They also give you the page reference number for the full description, which may or may not add to your knowledge. See if you can work out what this is....

"A hairy perennial, 5-15cm tall, with rosette of oblanceolate, round-tipped, crenate basal leaves to 15cm long, these gradually narrowed to base. Flowers regular, fragrant 20-35mm diam, erect, apparently solitary at end of several hairy flowering stems rising from same rosette (actually representing rays of a sessile umbel - the true flowering stem is strongly reduced on this species). Calyx bell-shaped with rather narrow cylindrical angular tube and 5 triangular lanceolate pointed teeth. Corolla pale yellow, tube about equalling calyx, corolla lobes 5, obovate, notched,flat and spreading with darker yellow markings near base. Stamens 5 with very short filaments. Ovary superior, 1-locular, heterostylous. Fruit a many-seeded ovoid capsule, 5-9mm long, opening with 5 valves."

Yes - it's a primrose.

Verdict: An excellent work of reference with more than you're likely to need to know but a bit heavy in the backpack.

COLLINS GEM WILD FLOWERS (£4.99)

A tiny little book but quite impressive for its size. It's divided up by families, but does make it as easy as possible to sort out which family is which and, because it's fairly limited, it's easier to find your way around. It's illustrated with photographs and drawings and doesn't claim to be comprehensive but as it's only the size of a cigarette packet it's easy enough to put in a pocket when you're out and about.

Verdict: A useful little starter book that doesn't overwhelm you.

DORLING KINDERSLEY WILD FLOWERS OR BRITAIN AND NORTH WEST EUROPE (£9.99)

This scores top marks for the clarity of its illustrations - beautiful photographs of individual plants taken against a white background and with each individual feature marked. The descriptions are equally clear and easy to understand. But it divides flowers by family - which could leave novices foundering. However, it also provides a step by step guide for finding which family a plant belongs to. Utterly baffling at first, but worth persevering with as it does eventually make some kind of sense.

Verdict: Not for the very young or impatient but a beautiful book which will reward a bit of effort.

MITCHELL BEAZLEY POCKET GUIDE TO WILD FLOWERS by Peter Moore (£7.99)

Oh dear, this book makes you work too hard. Quite right, I suppose, but when you find a flower you don't know, you have to look at it very carefully and then decide which group it belongs to. Is it a terrestrial - plant, flowers conspicuous, four petals, not joined together, and with a two-celled ovary? In that case it could be a wallflower. But by then, you might well have given up and gone home. Illustrated with drawings which are small and not always very clear.

Verdict: Ultimately very helpful and informative, but not particularly user-friendly, seriously off-putting and tricky to find your way around.

READER'S DIGEST FIELD GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS OF BRITAIN (£9.99)

Now do you want to find out what that flower is or do you want a good read? If the first, then this isn't the easiest guide to use. It's divided by families of plants so you have to have a vague idea of what something is before you can look it up. On the other hand, it does give you a very easy rough guide at the beginning of the book so you can soon get started.

It's illustrated with a mixture of drawings and photographs. The photographs aren't particularly clear, but the drawings are very helpful.

But the real joy of this book is the descriptions of the plants. This is where you learn that crowns of periwinkles were worn by people about to be executed, that brookweed's posh name comes from the Celtic for "health" and "pig" because it was good for pig diseases, that cow parsley stems make good pea shooters, that enchanter's nightshade guards you against elves' spells, that primroses are used in love potions, that the Virgin Mary lay on a bed of lady's bedstraw because the donkeys had eaten all the other fodder, sweet cicely was used to cure epilepsy and to polish oak furniture and that starch from bluebells was used in the elaborate ruffs worn in Elizabethan England. Nearly every entry - and there more than 500 - has gems such as those.

Verdict: Quite good for identifying flowers, but a brilliant book for reading.

USBORNE SPOTTER'S GUIDE (£2.99)

Small slim paperback, clearly aimed at children but none the worse for that. It is divided into sections according to colour with excellent drawings and descriptions. Very limited, of course, but still has more than 100 varieties described, which should be enough to get

you started.

Verdict: Clear, simple, easy to use and thin enough to push in a pocket. Very basic but excellent for absolute beginners of all ages.

* Bouquet of the Week has moved over to make room for all these other flowers, but will be back and blooming next week. To nominate someone for a bouquet - for good service or a kind deed - just send all the details to Bouquet of the Week, Sharon Griffiths, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF. Please remember to include your phone number, just in case of confusion.

Published: 03/05/2002