March

This chapter details the beginning of spring in the east country, when the days grew longer, rain fell, and the buds became a little greener. Inland, spring-messenger celandine and lemony primrose had appeared in hedge banks. However, forecasters said it will have been the coldest March, just three degrees, quite unlike last year's heat. Nevertheless, hedgerows up and down the valley revealed the erratic arrival of warmth and light. In a good year, Prunus dominates March landscapes. Many call them blackthorn, Prunus spinosa, but mostly this is mistaken. Blackthorn forms spiny thickets, one or two flowers together. The chapter also narrates a day of celebration for the valley's finest author, Ronald Blythe, who writes and gardens every day.