Britain has been a divided nation this month – the north dogged by cold winds, the south largely mild and balmy. So it's small wonder that the early spring flowers are barely showing in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but in the southern half of the country spring is well under way – snowdrops, celandines, daffodils, crocuses and hazel catkins are coming into bloom and the leaf buds of elder trees starting to break open. But when temperatures do recover in the north there should be a spectacular rush of spring flowers. All of the nation's spring flush was held back, though, by the harsh freeze of late November and December. That cold will also have done wonders for our native trees and plants, which need a decent spell of freezing cold in winter to make their seeds germinate and spur on growth, flowering and fruiting. Crops such as rhubarb, blackcurrants and raspberries will also have got a great boost from the cold.
To mark the beginning of spring, the Woodland Trust, along with the National Trust, Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB, are helping people find their way into woods to look out for the signs of the new season. A new website www.visitwoods.co.uk maps nearly 14,000 woodlands across the UK, allowing people to put in their postcode and find their nearest publicly accessible woods. The website also asks the public to send in observations of the first signs of spring, so that this year can be compared with past years.
