He has just a few months to complete his quest - no one has ever done it before within one growing season - and it will require ingenuity, stamina and a large dose of luck.

As he battles the vagaries of the British climate, feverishly chasing each emerging bloom, Leif Bersweden takes the reader on a remarkable botanical journey.

This study of the 52 native species is a fantastic gateway into the compendious world of orchids - one that will open your eyes to the rare hidden delights to be found on our doorstep.

Like Two Owls at Eton and My Family and Other Animals, The Orchid Hunter is a charming account of a precocious adolescent's obsession with the natural world.

Leif's enthusiasm for his quest is infectious, as is the quiet conviction with which he keeps at it, showing how plant hunting can be the ultimate mindful activity.