It is a truth universally acknowledged, that green space and nature are good for health, heart, soul and mind. Never more needed than after our first bout of Covid: as soon as we felt able, it was out to feel the recuperative effects of Spring, even if lingering post-viral fatigue made it feel like wading through treacle…

Bulbs of course are at their best in the gardens now and for the next month:

But other perennials are starting to add their form and colours to Nature’s palette:

So too the early-flowering shrubs, each wafting its own unique scent into into the air.  ‘Well-scented’ is the order of the season: given the expected temperatures, they do have to throw whatever they can into their attraction to pollinators.

And of course, in doing so giving us the chance to explore the effects of Covid. The good news is that any olfactory damping seems to be over, with only the spicy aroma of Witch-hazel proving difficult. But I find that a bit evanescent and elusive at the best of times…

Despite still-freezing overnight temperatures a few insects were out, from ladybirds nestling in the Euphorbia heads to Honeybees raiding the open nectar-vats of Winter Aconites. And, true to its name, a male Spring Usher moth…

Otherwise, it was time to appreciate the less flouncy and blowsy garden features. Lichens are never better to see than when there are no leaves on the trees…

… and the various natural adornments we love to see, from fascinating leaf-distortions on Bergenia, to the signs of vital natural senescence on Red Oak …

—and returning to the Bergenia, the slug munch-holes that we (as a garden that sells itself as ‘ecological and sustainable’) should wear as a badge of pride!