SOLVED. YA book about orphan English boy obsessed with plants and bugs. [s]

[Shayla]

Hello all, a friend asked me to post this here about a book she's looking for. Here's the summary she gave:

Frankly I’m starting to think that I made it up. It was about this young English boy who was an orphan and obsessed with plants and bugs. He gets a letter from a lawyer who tells him that he is the heir to some other English dude, and basically he inherits this enormous house,and the lawyer and this kid have a bizarre conversation about the plants in the lawyers office. One of the flowers only bloomed once in it’s entire life? Anyway, the English boy had a hella English name, something like Stephen? Nathaniel? Arthur? So he moves into the house and starts reading these journals that the previous owner, an explorer, had written. They were all about bugs and plants, and his adventures. If I remember correctly, there is some sassy commentary on the evils of colonialism. The explorer mentions this particular creature that he and his partner discovered, and it had a weird fuckin name. Bugwomp? Buggiewuggie? And then English boy named Henry or whatever discovers that the explorer man snuck the weird animals back to England and that they are literally all over the house, and he loves them. English kid learns a lot of things from the journal, including something about the lawyer, who he goes to confront. He gets to the dudes office just at the same time that hella rare flower bloomed, and they Bond over it. The book ends with the lawyers daughter coming to visit Merlin at the big fancy bug house. Do y'all have any clue what this book is?!

She read it around 10-14 years ago

Cover description she gave was that it was covered in green leaves.

Thanks to everyone who reads this! If you even think of a book sort of like this I'm sure my friend would appreciate the suggestion, as would I!

[Kym]

The Valley of Secrets by Charmian Hussey?

[Shayla]

that's it! thanks a ton :)

[Kym]

You're welcome!