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.I did a big shrub planting for a client in the spring and for various reasons there was a hiatus between planting and erecting a fence. I have just walked round to see what had been nibbled and can report that there are three distinct groups. Firstly

foolish as to think that spring is here - we are more than likely to get whacked by frost or snow before then - but at least it is showing willing.One of the best things about this time of year is scent. Flowers are pretty rare but there are a few plants

adaptation to the disappearance of greenery in autumn and the fact that these bugs sun themselves on brown tree trunks to warm up when they re-emerge in spring.I can't resist picking up these bumbling creatures, they're lovely. Their clockwork gait is almost

of my great pleasures is weeding while listening to my iPod. So easy to use and no danger of ruining it by squishing soil into the springs or weeds into the woofers. Sometimes I have random music so it can easily flit from Rachmaninov to Radiohead, Gogol

completely different foodplants. Butterflies in the spring emergence lay their eggs on holly and their caterpillars feed on the developing buds. When these insects reach adulthood in late-summer they lay their eggs on ivy flower buds. At least

for jumping or burrowing like similarly endowed insects, nor does it seem to use them in any peculiar mating ritual. And, as my finder asked, if only the males have fat legs what do we call the females?On the allotment, spring has arrived in the form of a

down drastically. There was a time when the water was only potable after using one of those tabletop filter devices to get rid of the chlorine smell, but now it's as clear as bottled spring water. I've always told people that the tap water is now fine

, it's the apples and pears that have been the subject of my attentions. As we know, apple trees blossom picturesquely in spring. These flowers then develop into small fruits and then, in June, the tree shrugs and loses a fair few of these (this

.But this is no longer enough. Next year I want cornflowers (a pretty easy option: direct sow where you need them in spring) in blue and purple; I yearn for chirpy orange calendulas; I pine for the delicate pink Nicotiana mutabilis and, more than anything, I want