It may still officially be winter but it is a good time to get out on a crisp sunny day to enjoy the displays of snowdrops, the harbinger of spring, at West Dean. The award-winning gardens re-open on 3 February after the winter closure.

Yes folks, it's official, Spring has sprung! How do we know this? Not because we have passed some arbitrary date such as the 1st of March but because we are gardeners and are attuned to all those subtle, sensory signals that silently but insistently say "Winter is past, the sap is rising, it's all before you, a new growing year awaits.

Chelsea week is the one time of the year that gardening dominates the airwaves and takes centre stage in the public's mind which is slightly curious because as any "real" gardener knows gardens are an all year round obsession that occupies one's thoughts and efforts for 52 weeks of the year . It is that constant input and long term commitment that really produces the results and offers the rewards.

The pear blossom was magnificent in March and April and now the orchard is a riot of pink and white apple blossom with a carpet of wildflowers including cowslips, dandelions and spears of blue camassias adding to the palette. May is definitely 'Wild Flower Month' at West Dean.

Well spring has certainly sprung and everything is roaring out of the ground as if its life depended on it, which in a way of course it does. This is a lovely time of the year, full of promise, everything looking fresh in the first flush of its youth and as yet unblemished by the vagaries of weather, pests or disease.

People often talk about good blossom years when the combination of prolific flower production and perfect climatic conditions at the time of flowering i.e. still, no hard frosts nor torrential rain or even worse sleet or hail, all come together to produce a display which is mind blowing in its intensity and over the top profligacy. When that happens you are witnessing one of the best bits of nature bling you could wish for and it's my impression that the last couple of weeks have been one of those magic moments for Magnolias.

Who remembered that days of sunshine could be quite so blissful- last summer seemed so long ago? We are actually working outdoors without wet weather clothing for the first time in ages and are really feeling the benefit.

The British have long been renowned for their love affair with the lawn, a passion with a pedigree going back at least as far as the 18th century landscape movement.

I have always had a soft spot for primulas even to the extent of making them the subject of my taxonomy paper as a student on the Kew Diploma. Surprisingly that only increased my enthusiasm!