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corner of Hampshire?I assume the weather conditions last year were responsible for the lack of dandelions, and perhaps the long, cold winter and burst or warm spring sunshine responsible for the recent dramatic display. I guess I'll not be alone

, elderflowers, blackberries and cherries.I cycle to and from work along a canal towpath. It's a lovely way to travel, and I feel somehow part of the seasonal shift throughout the year. I know spring has arrived when I see the first dandelions push through

then they will be ready for potting on again next spring.

More gardeners choose pansies and violas as their favourite bedding plant than any other flower.These brightly coloured flowers with their cheerful faces brave the very worst of our weather to put on displays during winter and spring, and voting

, while ScotiaLass chose Skimmia 'Rubella', honeysuckle, philadelphus and the old cottage garden pink 'Mrs Sinkins'.Lili went for spring-flowering viburnum ("the smell is exquisite"), while Diane recommended jasmine. Others favoured lilies, geum, nicotiana

with that wiggle thing cats do when they stalk something. Then the spring was released. The fox bolted forwards, right towards us as we stood transfixed in the kitchen. The squirrel was anything but fixed and dived through the fennel twigs, over the iris and up

acquired a 'mixed bag' of salad leaves in a trough I filled with soil last summer to see what weeds I could 'catch'. So far there's some orache, clover and fat hen. Yum.Nothing says 'spring' like the first nettle soup of the year. A small clump of nettles

an incredibly dry spring in my part of the East Midlands, with hardly a drop of rain for months. Farmers and gardeners are getting desperate for a good deluge, and I can openly make that plea now the long holiday weekends are over.The other thing we must all do

A few months back I mentioned that I was sowing some dwarf French beans, for an early crop in spring. I adore these juicy, tender beans and would much rather tuck in to a home-grown crop than imported varieties, shipped all the way from Egypt

-rich plants including achillea, astrantia, erigeron and verbascums.And, thanks to the warm, dry spring, the usual stalwarts of Chelsea - alliums and irises to name two - were few and far between. Instead, lavender, salvias, red valerian and geums took centre