Hail storms. Snow. North winds turning umbrellas inside out. Yesterday, the swallows, having just arrived, gathered in confusion on the telephone wires. A slow spring has some benefits though: the flowers are lasting longer. This morning, when the weather suddenly turned sunny and calmer, I went for a walk along the beck and found the butterbur still in bloom.

Butterbur is one of our first flowers to blossom, and it is often finished by now, before I can fully appreciate it. In looks, halfway between a toadstool and rhubarb, the spiky, fleshy pink flowers of the butterbur have an unconventional beauty.