Can I pick wild flowers?

I was wary of posting this photo on FaceBook. I feared Younger Son - and possibly others - would tell me off for picking wild flowers. And indeed YS did warn me that it is illegal to pick some wild flowers. However those are rare ones or those growing on private land or in conservation areas on the whole.

In fact the charity, Plantlife, is organising a Great British Wildflower Hunt. That means recording rather than picking them but it has listed twelve of the best to pick. It explains its reasons on the website - getting children back into nature, becoming familiar with and appreciating it - but its green light to pick has roused the anger of beekeepers. 

The Wildflower society says: Generally, uprooting is harmful, but picking with care and in moderation usually does little damage and can foster the appreciation of wild plants, which in turn benefits their conservation. 

In case you're worried the flowers I picked were from very large groupings (okay), on the list (okay) except for the bluebells but they were picked with care and in moderation, and not on private on conservation land (okay).

It is illegal, however, to sell wild bluebell bulbs or seeds.

When I was a small child my cousin, Lynne, and I were in Clyne Gardens and as we wandered around we picked some little flowers. Imagine our horror when we were suddenly surrounded - yes, surrounded - by what seemed to us little children to be huge policemen but I assume were park-keepers who told us off and confiscated our flowers.

So, no, I don't usually pick any sort of flower when I'm out. But these were in such abundance and so pretty.