Using vernacular examples from ‘didactic literature’, it is questioned which role the verbalisation of nature plays in a didactic context and which knowledge systems come together in its textualisation. The work demonstrates how talking about nature enables a dynamic amalgamation of various discourses and thereby itself produces both knowledge and reality. At the same time, the text analyses make clear that – despite all the variance and variety – certain structures become recognisable, appearing as a recurring combination of particular discourse combinations with distinct textualisation strategies.