For darling buds of May read April. The warm sunny spell beginning at Easter prompted a surge of blossom to open.

Buds of cherry, tightly furled one day burst forth a day later so that everywhere, white and pink blossom shone in the sunshine together with blackthorn and  magnificent but ephemeral magnolia.

Fresh green foliage unfurled framed by a deep blue sky. Horse chestnut was first to appear followed by plane, hawthorn, oak and lime with others rapidly following in their wake. Then of course, the fading blossom fell like pseudo snow showers in the breeze.

At ground level, primroses, green alkanet, celandine and Queen Anne's lace appeared and one of my favourites, dandelions, glowed golden everywhere. One day, road verges were awash with lawn daisies and dandelions, the next day, needlessly and thoughtlessly mown into oblivion by some councils  thus denying insects a rich vital early nectar source and ourselves the pleasure of appreciating them.

Now is the turn of bluebells, arguably our favourite spring flower. I am talking about our genuine native deep blue, sometimes white or pink scented pendulous bluebells, not the insipid pale straight-stemmed Spanish variety which seem to pop up everywhere nowadays.

Visiting a bluebell wood is a magical experience, the flowers offset by bright green beech trees (pictured). Sunny mornings are best as brimstone and orange-tip butterflies are more likely to be seen perching beneath the flowers imbibing nectar, creating a stunning blend of rich colour among the nodding blue florets.