Fallout

We have had a hard (by UK standards) winter: fifteen degrees (C) of frost in December; the driest February for 30 years; the wettest March for 40 years; a long, cold April; light levels in both March and April have been lower than any of the previous four years.

This is all trivial by global standards, of course, but it explains some of the garden fallout we spent the day dealing with: dead perennials; shrubs burned off; the sweetest-smelling honeysuckle died back by yards. The willow-weave was an irresistible lure at yesterday's plant sale - possibly created by some of those who come for recovery, though they were not making a point of that

The heather is lucky to be here - or I'm lucky to have it. I was all for grubbing it up a few years ago, when it looked scruffy and grown out. Mrs M persuaded me that it has merit, and the extremes of the Oxfordshire winter are child's play for a plant adapted to upland life