At last, the weather should be improving and we can look forward to snow free days. Hallelujah Spring has arrived and the time is here to start putting into actions all those plans you made in the colder winter months. (Have you managed to keep up with all your New Year’s resolutions? – we’ve failed miserably, as usual!!)

But to help cheer us up, this is the highly colourful time of year in the plant calendar.  You will see the larger shrubs Azalea, Camellia’s’ Magnolia’s and Rhododendrons flowering in abundance not only in your garden and the National Trust gardens and parks but also in the countryside and along the hedgerows. Spring flowers such as Daffodils, Tulips and Hyacinths will also start to bloom.  And for the Florists it’s a busy time of in the calendar with Mothers Day and Easter giving us the excuse to spoil our nearest and dearest with floral gifts – and more chocolate!!

March

If your birthday is in March the Pisces amongst you won’t be surprised to learn that the flower associated with yourspecial day is the Jonquil (also known Daffodil or Narcissus) – which to the Victorians came to mean ‘friendship and domestic happiness’.  If the colour of the flower was a white variety, it also had the additional meaning – ‘You are an angel’.  Well, if you can provide domestic happiness.. you must be an angel! Now inspiration for potential pressies, your Birthstone is the Aquamarine which represents faithfulness, courage and friendship.

In the garden you can start to sow some seeds in the greenhouse, plant summer flowering bulbs, take cuttings, prune roses, and maybe feed the grass for the first time.(Once you’ve finished being a domestic goddess of course!)

Notable dates and events in March:

March 1^st St David’s Day (Patron Saint of Wales)
March 5^th St Piran’s Day (Patron Saint of Cornwall)
March 8^th Commonwealth Day
March 11^th – 14^th Crufts (THE show for all dog lovers.)
March 14^th Mothers Day/Mothering Sunday (date set 3 weeks before Easter)
March 17^th St Patricks Day (Patron Saint of Ireland)
March 20^th Spring equinox
March 28^th British Summer Time (clocks go forward one hour)
March 28^th Palm Sunday (the start of Holy Week for Christians)

April

The first of April is one date that most school boys: and indeed some grownups will be aware of and remember! Traditionally April fool’s Day is when practical jokes and hoaxes are expected to be played. Even national newspapers and TV news channels have been known to join in and try to ‘fool’ the general public, so beware!

Pity then the poor child born on April the first, receiving Christmas cards etc on their birthdays is actually really predictable and by the time they are in their twenties, the ‘joke’ has worn very thin!

Talking of birthdays, the zodiac sign Aries falls into this month, Arians are said to be: Loyal, Patriotic, Courageous, Adventurous, Confident & Passionate (traits you may well need if you’re born on the 1^st!)

Aprils Birth flowers are the Sweet pea or Daisy, which can be said to mean ‘Good-bye or Blissful Pleasure’.  Your Birthstones are either Sapphires or diamonds – so there is some justice in the world.

April is a time of sunshine and showers and sometimes  even an odd cold spell with the occasional frost in the air. Spring is truly here, the trees are in full blossom and all the flowering bulbs are all on show, often decorating the roundabouts and roadside verges with great drifts of colour. Easter falls in this month, so now you can eat all those Easter eggs that the supermarkets have been trying to entice you with since December 31st!

Notable dates and events in April:

April 1^st April Fool’s Day
April 2^nd Good Friday – Bank Holiday yippee!
April 4^th Easter Sunday
April 5^th Easter Monday – Bank Holiday cooool!
April 21^st the Queen’s Birthday
April 23^rd St Georges Day (Patron Saint of England)

May

May sees the end of spring and the start of summer, the weather can be getting quite warm, so the temperature in your greenhouse may have to be watched over the coming weeks. Young plants will now need hardening off before being planted out in the garden. The use of the lawn mower may become a regular job. (Or chore depending on the size of your garden) .

Weekly visits to the local garden centres will be almost compulsory, as will weekend car boot sales, after all who can resist a bargain, and you never know you may even come across a hidden gem.  May’s birthstone is the Emerald, now that would be a nice find at a car boot sale!

The flower associated with May birthdays is the Lily of the Valley whose meaning is ‘sweetness and humility’ and “You’ve Made My Life Complete”.

Now you know why so many brides choose this flower to be amongst their bouquets and buttonholes.

The first of May is celebrated in many English villages, with the crowning of the May Queen and dancing around the May Pole. Morris men, (and sometimes women) can also be seen performing their traditional dances outside quaint country pubs, after all where better to watch this spectacle on a warm sunny day. Another typically quirky English event is the Cheese Rolling Day held in Gloucestershire on 31^st May. Dating back to the early 1800’s, the young men of the town compete to catch the 8lb Double Gloucester Cheese that is rolled down the bone shaking, and often bone breaking hill. The winner is actually the first person to cross the finishing line in one piece! But who gets the cheese?

Notable dates and events in May: 

May 1^st May Day
May 3^rd Bank Holiday
May 31^st Spring Bank Holiday
May 31^st Cheese Rolling Day (Gloucestershire)

Enjoy Spring as “twenty ten” starts to feel alive.

Written on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 12:45 pm in the category Well fancy that!.
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