Get your ovens preheated and your baskets at the ready – this autumn is set to bring a bumper crop of berries.
This is great news for all of us berry enthusiasts and here at MowDIRECT we can't wait to get out there and make the most of the fantastic bounty available for foragers looking to get a cheap … well, free meal.
Dr Kate Lewthwaite of the Woodland Trust manages a survey known as Nature's Calendar, which uses records going back to the 17th century to predict what is going to happen in the future.
This year Dr Lewthwaite's estimates point to a foraging frenzy that is sure to get even the most apathetic blackberry enthusiast jump with glee.
While old memories of pies cooling on the windowsill might be somewhat cliche, bakers will be rubbing their asbestos-hands in delight at the prospect of avoiding extortionate charges at supermarkets for raspberries and other crops.
Dr Lewthwaite said: "Although our records suggest that autumn fruiting will be late this year due to the delayed onset of spring flowering, if the warm weather interspersed with occasional wet spells continues, this should mean the fruiting of shrubs like bramble, rowan and blackthorn is abundant.
"Wildlife species will no doubt benefit from a bumper crop and finally fruit-eating birds and mammals will be able to enjoy an autumn feast."
As for the rest of August, flower enthusiasts won't have to tend to their beauties too much, as there will be consistent scattered showers proving pervasive throughout the rest of the month.
However, temperatures will remain in the high teens and low twenties and this will give pollinators a decent chance of making it a little bit later into the year than they did after last year's washout.
While sunbathers might be disappointed with the coming few weeks, it will allow those of us who appreciate a bit of forest foraging to have a slightly better mushroom picking season than last year when it seemed all but the most hardy fungi were drowned out of existence.
Remember: when collecting mushrooms, don't eat anything unless you are absolutely 100 per cent it is safe, as not doing this can be lethal.
