I suspect that we are not the only people to find our garden is reeling under yet another confusing bout of weather here in the UK. This time last year we struggled with low temperatures and snow and now we have just had the mildest period for ages and plants are springing into life. We have honesty in bloom, the nemesias that normally bloom most of the year but take time off from late November to early March are still going strong and our newly planted apple tree is in full leaf.

The apple tree was planted at the end of October. Supplied as a bare-rooted tree the instructions told us to prune anytime between November and February to achieve the style of tree required. As our garden is small we wanted to make this a cordon tree like the others we have but this tree immediately developed buds and is now really green. The instructions say not to prune whilst it is still active so I can see the shape being left as it is until next year at this rate. Meanwhile, when we do get a bad spell it will presumably lose its leaves and maybe suffer dire consequences to boot.

Some years we fail to have daffodils in bloom for March 1st, St David's Day, for OH but this year, if the trend continues, I can see them being almost over by that date. Reading diaries and books from earlier ages, however, shows this is nothing new. Francis Kilvert often commented on unusual weather in his diary from the Nineteenth centry and Gilbert White, the parson naturalist did the same. If nothing else, perhaps we should record these unusual events for future generations to look back on. I recall a member of a WI group I belonged to showing us a diary she had kept for well over half a century. Each day she just commented on the weather and which flowers were in bloom in the garden or round about. A farmer's wife, she often travelled around the district and just wrote down her thoughts. We tried to persuade her to get it published but I don't believe she ever did. I'd love to know what happened to this priceless archive. Today there are organisations that appeal for such material and there have been several such collections published over the years including the Diary of an Edwardian Lady which also made it to TV. Sometimes the difficulty is persuading people their contribution is of value - but then that is a problem for writers the world over.