Dear reader...

THE PHRASE ‘APRIL SHOWERS’ is commonplace and is believed to have its roots in an English proverb dating back to the 1800s. Yet, surprisingly, although rain can be sudden and heavy, April is often one of the driest months, with warm spring days to be savoured.

It is one of my favourite times to be in the garden: ripe tulip buds sway in the breeze, and tiny serrated leaves dance on the pendulous branches of the birch tree. Everything here is bursting into growth, including the lawn.

The wet winter shows itself in areas of springy green moss, and a few dandelions have opened their yellow faces to the sky. Large patches of clover form irregular cushions of dark green; their trifoliate leaves pushing back the grass. As I survey the assorted plants which make up my neglected lawn and ponder how I will improve its appearance, I notice lots of little piles of soil. They look like tiny molehills, with a hole in the middle. At least 20 of them are dotted around, like a village of squat houses set in a meadow. As I muse on what they could be, a small, slender bee lands on the grass and crawls into one of the holes.

These are Mining bees, and I have not seen them in my garden before. Watching them going about their business, I feel immensely privileged to witness these solitary souls. I sit and watch their comings and goings, contemplating the fact that a small lawn, no matter how dishevelled, can be home to so much life…