Odes and Nightingales

From murmurations of starlings in spring, to petrichor — the sweet smell that you get after rain — explore the beauty of the evocative words that we use to describe nature, and celebrate the natural world through literary quotes and poems.

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvellous." - Aristotle

Some of the most evocative words in language are those we use to describe the natural world. Words like petrichor, murmuration, shivelight and dreich all conjure up experiences of being out in nature. In Japan this concept of connection with the outdoors is known as Shinrin-yoku 'forest bathing', whilst in Norway it is Friluftsliv or 'free-air life', a word coined by playwright Henrik Ibsen, meaning to spend time reconnecting with nature.

Nature has inspired poets and writers through the centuries, and the phrases they used are often what we bring to mind when we think of the natural world: Wordsworth wandered lonely as a cloud, Keats wrote his 'Ode to a Nightingale' and Shakespeare compared his muse to a summer's day.

Odes and Nightingales brings together the best nature words, with their origins, and the best writing on nature. Perfect for reading or sharing, this is a gift to treasure all year long.