"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...

And as wild flowers surely they are protected.

I don't think they are. Not all wild flowers are protected.

They are - it is an offence to take any plant without permission of the
landowner, and I can't offhand think of any bit of the UK, apart from
perhaps below the high tide mark, that isn't owned by *someone*

Depends on where you mean. A lot of land owned by the crown has public
access, and anything you can get to from said access is considered fair
game. Otherwise kids picking blackberries would be illegal, picking
mushrooms, etc, would be illegal!

It's more important to know what you're picking and how to avoid damaging
what's there, IMHO.