This week, which has led up to the spring equinox, seems to have been full to bursting with new life and growth. All the dull browns of winter are gradually being clothed with a fresh green outlook and every day another flower opens.

The sudden and very welcome warm sunshine has encouraged so much to happen in our Shropshire gardens in a very short time…

Cherry blossom is on the verge of exploding into pink and white candyfloss trees and the new leaves of the weeping willows are like acid green gossamer waterfalls. Fat magnolia buds are set to open any minute, but hopefully will wait a little longer - a kiss of frost (which is probably inevitable) always mars the newly opened flowers.

It’s been a week of ‘firsts’ as well. I have mown the first lawn, seen the first butterfly, sown my first seeds, seen, for the first time ever, a tiny and rather sleepy dormouse and made the first rhubarb crumble!

All manner of flowers have burst open quite suddenly to adorn our gardens with a symphony of colour - aubretia, anemone blanda, species tulips, fritillaries and of course daffodils - everywhere there are daffodils - gardens, roadsides, hedgerows and orchards.

Oh, and another first - one of my photographs (below) appears this month in the 2009 Tatton Park calendar.