Residents at a North Yorkshire care home are celebrating after identifying more than 140 species of wildflowers as part of a nationwide botanical challenge.
Hazelgrove Court Care Home in Saltburn has been awarded a certificate from the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) after completing its 100 Plants in 2026 Challenge.
The project brought together residents, staff and family members to identify and record wild plants found across Saltburn and Redcar, helping participants learn more about local biodiversity and the natural world.
Activities coordinator Sharon Lewis registered the home for the challenge, which encourages people new to botany to identify and record the first 100 wild plants they discover during the year.
Sharon said: “This has been a brilliant project involving our residents, friends and families. We've also taken part in several webinars with the Botanical Society to help build our knowledge of wildflowers.”
Throughout the challenge, residents created a display in the home's corridor showcasing photographs of the flowers they had discovered, along with details including where and when each species was found.
Among the plants identified were snowdrops spotted earlier in the year, while more recent finds included red campion, willowherb, purple toadflax, penstemon and shrubby cinquefoil.
By July, the group had recorded more than 140 different species, well exceeding the challenge target of 100 plants.
Resident Barry Taylor, 86, said his love of flowers dates back to his childhood.
He said: “I became interested in flowers from when I was a child. I would go to Sedgefield with my dad, to my grandma's house, and her garden was filled with hundreds of roses. It was an amazing sight.”
Sheila O'Neill, 86, added: “I have loved taking part in this project. As flowers tell you what time of year it is, when we saw snowdrops we knew winter was coming to an end, and then the daffodils told us spring was on the way.”
Joyce Tibbett, 91, said one of her favourite parts of the challenge was identifying flowers from photographs.
Sharon said the project had proved a popular talking point among residents and visitors alike.
She said: “We never realised just how many wild flowers we have in Hazelgrove's garden.”
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David Barlow, the BSBI's North East representative, said: “A knowledge of wildflowers gives you an appreciation of the world around you.
"Learning 100 wildflowers is a great achievement. If everyone knew 100 wildflowers I think the world would be a much better place.”
The annual challenge hopes to encourage people of all ages to engage with nature and develop a greater understanding of the plants growing in their local area.
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