It’s amazing how it takes just a few lengthening sunny days and the shackles of winter begin to loosen.

Plants start coming into bud, birds start singing louder, frogs start croaking and gardeners start cleaning pots, chitting potatoes and digging the soil.

It’s that awakening month. Something new every day. And because it’s a bit later this year it feels all the more welcome and special.

I read somewhere that when the temperature falls below -6c, the daffodil bulbs stop growing. Hence no St David’s Day daffodil in my garden on March 1st.

But the Snowdrops and Aconites, having sneaked around the borders to appear in unexpected places, are putting on a grand show.

This winter, gardens have taken a real hammering. Some plants are definitely dead and others have been so damaged by the frost and snow that it’s a question of wait and see.

The hardest hit species that I have seen so far is the Rosemary - depending on the location it seems that they are either dead, dying or very unhappy. The Ceanothus - it’s lovely deep, green glossy leaves are now brown and crunchy. That will be a ‘wait and see’ plant. And the Leptospermum (Tea Tree) - dead.

We love it really, and like the plants, (not the Leptospermum) we’ll pull through and have plenty to talk about… “Hardest winter since the dinosaurs”…. “Played havoc with the rheumatics”…. “Took me four weeks to find the dog”, and so on.

What would we British have to talk about  if we didn’t have such diverse weather. It’s as British as the cup of tea, bowler hat, a lawn full of daisies and the spring-time picture of old men in brown corduroys and braces, bottoms up, tending to their allotments.