This time last year, we’d already had a few barbecues and eaten alfresco after work, the tender plants were out on the patio and I was well into the tidy up, mulching, planting and all the general Spring-time garden jobs. The March picture of the Garden Arches also shows several plants and shrubs coming into flower.

This year we have most of the country under snow, with more to come next week, the greenhouses are still on the patio and anything that has managed to flower or grow the first new tender shoots of spring has sorely regretted it.

We woke up to a thicker, even layer of white that had melted a little by the time I got out of bed and got myself organised.

A few daffodils have managed to stay upright and brace themselves against the weather but they don’t look too happy about it.

I’m feeling a bit like those daffodils collapsed on the ground too. There’s no let up to the cold weather in the forecast either. A glance through the blog archives for March 2012 shows how this month couldn’t be any more opposite to last year.

At the moment all I can do is hope for the wind to change direction to come from the south, have the jet stream move North and have an area of high pressure sit on the UK for a good, long while. Until then it’s back to the old garden magazines and comfort food.