For botanists, or anyone who appreciates the natural beauty of a living landscape, Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling & the Trossachs is unmissable. Over 25% of all ferns and flowering plants recorded in Britain can be found in and around the National Park.

In the mild southwest, especially the Cowal peninsula, sub-tropical species flourish in the gentle climate, while plants more usually found in the tundra or the Alps cling to the highest ridges, summits and cliffs. There are deep, dark conifer forests, deciduous woodland, broad sweeping fields with bobbing meadow flowers, vast stretches of heather-swathed moorland, sheltered glens and forbidding crags where arctic-alpines grow.

Plants are sparser in the remote and rugged Highland area. As a general rule, the further you go off the beaten track, the more likely you are to be rewarded. Below the summits (up to around 2,000ft), moorland is the dominant landscape and where heather and bell heather are predominant. Interspersed among the clumps you might see blueberry (known as bilberry in England), crowberry and cloudberry. On wetter areas the flora is richer and deer grass, grass of Parnassus, bog myrtle, and heath rush are characteristic.

Where peat deposits have accumulated, hummocks of sphagnum moss are the dominant form, but you might also come across cross-leaved heath (also known as bog heather), cottongrass and the insectivorous sundew among others. The upland heaths, moors and bogs are also home to several species of orchids, including lesser twayblade, heath spotted, early marsh and northern marsh orchids.

The lower ground in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs is dominated by oak woodland, mixed with scrubby birch, hazel and alder. In low-lying marshy areas around rivers and lochs, there are more marsh orchids along with meadowsweet, yellow flag iris, the garden escapee monkey flower, and two carnivores - round-leaved sundew and butterwort. Common and bladder sedge, marsh ragwort and ragged robin are also common, while rarer species include tufted loosestrife, cowbane and marestail.

In the east of the area, Flanders Moss Reserve, lying in the flat valley of the Upper Forth, is the largest remaining area of lowland bog in Britain. Dominated by heather, sphagnum moss and cotton grass, along with cranberry and bog rosemary, it’s home to many different species of butterflies and moths.

Tucked away amidst the smokestacks of Grangemouth lies a very special place. Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre is a huge wildlife garden that celebrates all that is best about our native plants. Since 1991, a mosaic of wetlands, woodland and meadow has been created, with hundreds of native trees and over three hundred wildflower species.

Towards Falkirk, Carron Glen is an area of semi-natural broadleaved woodland, with large stands of oak and areas of birch, alder, goat willow and ash. Locally rare plants found here are wood cranes-bill, wood meadow grass, large bittercress and wood melick, with globeflower abundant on the islands on the River Carron.

Fertile soils and a mild climate have made Argyll's Atlantic Islands a botanical treasure trove. You'll find an incredibly rich flora especially in the machir (a carpet of wild flowers) which covers most of the islands. The small isle of Colonsay has perhaps the greatest variety of flora in the Hebrides, with around 500 species.