"The best weather detectives are the birds, plants and animals we share this fragile world with. But how many of us nowadays can interpret the clues they offer? Peter Wohlleben delves deep into the mysteries of animal and bird behaviour, soil management, plant adaptation, and ways of mitigating the effects of climate change on our gardens and our planet."
― Christopher Somerville, walking correspondent for The Times. Author of The January Man

"Wohlleben’s insightful observations of nature, combined with his signature blend of science and imagination, invite us into deeper relationship with the ecology of our homes."
― David George Haskell, Pulitzer finalist and author of The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees

"For a society increasingly distanced from nature, Wohlleben renews our appreciation of the wonderful and varied ties between the living and nonliving worlds, including those that bind our favorite plants and animals with that most familiar of all physical entities, the weather."
― Bill Streever, nationally bestselling author of Cold

"A fascinating book"
― Daily Mail

"A treasure trove of fascinating information about the environment. A primer for the curious gardener... a book to browse and then think to yourself, 'Oh, so that's why.'"
― Town and Country magazine

★Rights sold to Mainland China, Taiwan, USA, UK, France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, South Korea!
★Observing, Understanding and Using Phenomena of Nature in the Garden.
★This book was on the Top 1 of best-selling list in the German Amazon for a long time!
★Bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben, invites you to reconnect with nature.
★Full English translation text available.

Expeditions into nature begin right outside our front door. Thousands of small and large processes occur here that are fascinating and revealing – if you should notice them. In his book, Peter Wohlleben invites the reader to train their senses in order to observe the signals sent out by the winds, clouds, plants and animals.

As soon as we step out of the door, nature surrounds. Thousands of small and large processes are taking place, details that are long often fascinating and beautiful. But we've long forgotten how to recognise them.

Peter Wohlleben, bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees, invites us to become an expert, to take a closer look and interpret the signs that clouds, wind, plants and animals convey. Chaffinches become weather prophets, bees are live thermometers, courgettes tell us the time.

The Weather Detective combines scientific research with charming anecdotes to explain the extraordinary cycles of life, death and regeneration that are evolving on our doorstep, bringing us closer to nature than ever before. A walk in the park will never be the same again.

Peter Wohlleben
spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice. He now runs an environmentally friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working towards the return of primeval forests, as well as caring for both wild and domestic animals.

Wohlleben has been celebrated for his distinctive approach to writing about nature; he brings to life groundbreaking scientific research through his observations of nature and the animals he lives amongst. He is also the author of international bestsellers including "The Hidden Life of Trees" and "The Inner Life of Animals".

INTRODUCTION: on Nature’s Trail

1. WHAT WILL THE WEATHER BE LIKE?
Cloud towers and red sunset
Botanical weather prophets
Animals as weather prophets
And you yourself?

2. IS IT WINDY OR COLD?
Measuring wind speed
Comfort temperature and living thermometers

3. RAIN, SNOW AND HAIL
Rain – can’t do without
What hail rings reveal
Snow and frost

4. SUN, MOON AND STARS
Cold nights and starlit skies
Shooting stars and cosmic rain
Moon phases
The planets

5. SUNSHINE AND DAYTIME
Course of the day
Wristwatch and actual local time
Bird clock
Floral clock
Sun clock

6. THE SEASONS
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

7. LIVING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
Good water management
Rising temperatures
Effects on the garden

8. ASSESSING YOUR SOIL QUALITY
Soil types
Encouraging humus
Useful garden residents
Soil compaction and its long-term impact
Preventing erosion

9. NATIVE FLORA AND EXOTIC GUESTS
Green leaves and variegation
Trees and shrubs: friends or foes?
Invasive species

10. FUR AND FEATHERS
Territorial behaviour
Those that help and those that harm
Predators and prey
Population explosions
Birds in winter
Nest boxes
Undesirable squatters
Animal invaders
Animals wild and tame
Abandoned offspring

11. EXPERIENCING NATURE WITH ALL OUR SENSES
Night vision
Incensed by scent
Tuning in our ears

12. A RETURN TO NATURE

The author
Index