Ok, on a scale of 1 to 10, how fed up are you with the spring so far? I know we Brits like talking about the weather, but we deserve to talk about it when it is like this. I've yet to see a butterfly and only one bumblebee this year. At least many of you I believe have got sunshine today (not here - the leaden grey continues) so maybe you'll have the cheer of a bit of birdsong.

I like to bring you photos that…

A couple of weeks ago I took a few days off and headed for one of my many favourite boltholes in Britain - North Norfolk.

I combined a bit of birdwatching at places such as RSPB Titchwell, with a lot of walking, plus some inevitable 'gardening', such as a trip to the famous winter garden at Anglesey Abbey and its grove of Himalayan Birch trees...

But my favourite gardening moment was in Hunstanton. We had…

So we had half an inch of snow down here in Sussex and the roads became impassable, so a day working from home meant a chance at lunchtime to go and see how the garden was faring.

My Crocus tommasinianus, which are planted in part for early spring colour and in part because they are fairly well liked by some early pollinators, were certainly not open for business, although they did look rather fetching against the dazzling…

I think it is possible to see fascination and wonder in almost any creature, but there's no denying that some seem to have the edge when it comes to charisma. Painted Lady butterflies have it more than Meadow Browns; Great Spotted Woodpeckers more than Wood Pigeons. Yes, some creatures are designed to be looked at.

In my garden over the years, the attention-grabbers have included Marbled White butterflies, Elephant…