So, is this spring- at last?

Finally, a day of good weather has coincided with a short break in the mountain of work, so I've spent the day in the garden. And in some parts of the Hodge plot there is winter devastation everywhere. It looks like I might rue my normal relaxed approach to winter protection! The banana (Musa basjoo) is not looking great - so fingers crossed it'll come through. A thick mulch may have saved the ginger lilies (hedychiums), only time will tell. Anyhoo, I've given most beds a good spring clean and filled the brown Council bin with all manner of dead material. I usually compost all garden waste, but all three of my compost bins are full and the material removed today has been mostly dry and woody.

I've also fed the lawn, which is looking decidedly yellow and mossy - typical of most lawns across the country following the onslaught of the wet and cold winter weather. As well as trying to get it looking good, I also had to feed it to get some good growth, so I can carry out the Garden News Tried & Tested feature on small elecrtric mowers.

Talking of ginger lilies, we've been selling some massive hedychium rhizomes on Garden Bargains on Ideal World Extra (the new channel dedicated to homes & gardens). I couldn't believe the size of them and covered in buds that will produce great, bushy plants.

Earlier this week I finished writing the RHS Allotment Journal and provided all the copy to Helen at Mitchell Beazley. All I have to do now is wait for the proofs to start arriving so I can edit any copy that needs cutting down or filling out. Good news about the RHS Allotment Handbook - it has sold out! The publishers are hurriedly getting another print run together and I'm sure big retailers (like Amazon, I hope) have bought plenty of stock to fulfil orders. If you can't find it in the shops, you can buy a copy online from my Amazon bookshop.

Hope the weather has been kind to you this weekend and you've managed a few hours getting some colour back into your cheeks after the long, drawn-out, miserable, cold, depressing winter. But spring's here (?) and I've predicted a scorcher of a summer. Yes, I will take the rap if it's rubbish again.