Gina Parkinson heralds the arrival of trumpeting daffodils to her garden, finally.

It is the first weekend in April and at last it feels that spring is here. We seem to have had a long, wet winter this year but at least our reservoirs are full and the trees are hydrated and ready to burst into leaf.

The daffodils in our garden have come into bloom over the past two weeks or so. They are very late, my early ones are usually here in February, but they held on to their tightly closed blooms for much longer than usual. The tall, elegant ones in the front garden, 'February Gold' I think, have formed two good clumps of foliage and flowers. Each stem is topped with a single, long trumpeted bloom encircled by narrow swept-back petals.

The smaller 'Tete-a-tetes' dotted about the garden are also doing well. These seem to thrive in sun or shade and are for me the most reliable of the daffodils I have planted. They nestle amongst soft-grey green euphobias, protected by the evergreen stems of these plants, but do just as well clumped up in the rather dry and exposed soil of the temporarily empty herb bed.

Pulmonarias and primulas are still flowering profusely - the primulas have been especially good this year, blooming for weeks in all kinds of weather. They come in so many different colours, some bold and brash, making a statement with their purple and rich red petals, others more delicate in subtle shades of lemon and pale pink.

Then there are the crocus and hyacinths filling sunny spots with colour and scent, euphorbias about to open out their lime green blooms and fat buds on the hydrangeas. And golden grasses popping up in unexpected places, brown stemmed clematis sprouting overnight and blossom trees swelling as each day passes.

The list is endless, April really is the best month in the garden. Well, at least until May arrives.

Garden talk

Elizabeth Tite, Publicity Officer for the National Gardens Scheme in Yorkshire will give a talk entitled 'Opening Your Garden for the NGS' on Tuesday April 4. Organised by Askham Bryan College (ABC) Gardening Club the talk will be held in the Conference Hall at Askham Bryan College starting at 7.30pm. Admission is free to ABC Gardening Club members and £5 on the door for non-members.