An Irish Nature Year

Written by Jane Powers

Narrated by Aoife McMahon

Call it a daily meditation on the world around us for nature-lovers and nature newbies alike, An Irish Nature Year gleefully explores the small mysteries of the seasons as they unfold – Who’s cutting perfect circles in your roses? Which birds wear feathery trousers? And what, exactly, is an amethyst deceiver?

An Irish Nature Year is an illustrated day book filled with plants, animals, birds and creepy-crawlies from all over the island of Ireland. With one short entry for every day of the year, nature columnist Jane Powers serves up 5 minutes’ worth of wonderment to enjoy on your coffee break, on your commute, or to relax with at bedtime.

From ‘weeds’ in the pavement cracks and surprising inhabitants of vacant lots, to unusual finds along our shoreline and hedgerows, you’ll find more of the natural world to admire right under your nose, and relish the little things that mark the passing of the seasons across the ever-changing Irish landscape.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Sep 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9780008392161

Jane Powers

Jane Powers is a nature writer and columnist for The Sunday Times Irish edition, where she was gardening correspondent for many years, as she was at the Irish Times. Her previous book, The Irish Garden, was named Inspirational Book of the Year at the Garden Media Awards.

Reviews for An Irish Nature Year

[thesmellofbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am sad to finish this book that I have been reading daily since January 1 of this year. Jane Powers has done a wonderful job taking us through the seasons, with glimpses of the many living things that can be seen and heard, learned from and marvelled at in wild Ireland. I would love to see a slightly bigger version of this book, where she has space to go into the folklore connected to the various plants and animals in greater detail. As it stands, most of the entries do not have folklore attached, but are nevertheless fascinating and pleasingly described. I enjoyed every moment of An Irish Nature Year and will doubtless begin it again another January.