Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

Having just driven hundreds of  miles of the length and breadth of England, I can confirm that, in spite of any wintry surprises that the weather might yet have in store, as far as the earth is concerned, spring has definitely sprung. I know those roads so well now, that I can asses the progress of the seasons by the flowers that bloom in individual gardens and hedgerows. Amongst the first harbingers of spring  are a drift of snowdrops near Ashbourne in Derbyshire. They are planted on a south-facing slope in the shelter of a wall and, every year, seem to be amongst the very first to bloom. Quite often, their green and white freshness is lost against the last of the snow, while, half a mile away in a north facing copse, another carpet of snowdrops still waits for the first touch of the sun.

By the time these…