A little ring of gold sparkled in the border as I walked down the path one morning this week. I looked; it looked back!

My Blackbird has certainly been full of the joys of spring for the last three weeks, singing from well before dawn. And it is a sound that I will happily doze to, it is so rich and soulful.

And by the look of him, he is clearly in fine fettle too. His plumage is immaculate, and the yellow of the…

Amongst all the early bulbs that are beginning to flower in my garden weeks early (and which today got splatted by an immense hailstorm), there is one plant that has been merrily flowering for the last 12 months non-stop.

Here it is, a gorgeous little fuchsia all the way from Mexico where the little candy-pink pendant flowers, barely a centimetre long, are visited by hummingbirds.

Now in its homeland it is thought…