Green spears thrust from the woodland floor this month as ramsons – wild garlic – has its moment in the sun. In some damper woods, especially alongside streams, ramsons can dominate, emitting a powerful garlicky odour. The taste is mild and the leaves make a fine addition to sandwiches and salads. As spring progresses, bright globular flowerheads emerge, providing a beautiful contrast to bluebells where the two species cohabit.

How to identify wild garlic

Flowering from April through to June, wild garlic blankets the forest floor of the UK’s woodlands. Blooming just before bluebells, wild garlic is distinguishable by its smell rather than its appearance.

The star-shaped flowers clustered at the end of a single long stem differentiate the edible plant from its woodland neighbours; Lily of the Valley is a poisonous lookalike of wild garlic and they often are mis-identified due to their similar leaf shape.

What to do with wild garlic

Like the domesticated alliums, ramsons are edible and the leaves are an excellent addition to a cheese or pate sandwich. Dig up the bulbs and use like garlic, and save the flowers- they make a beautiful edible decoration to savoury dishes.

Whizzed up with walnuts, olive oil and a few tablespoons of parmesan added after, the leaves also make a delicious wild garlic pesto.

Find out more about foraging and cooking with wild garlic in our expert guide

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Great crested grebes courting

There’s something of the Strictly Come Dancing waltz about the courtship ritual of great crested grebes. Look out for the immaculately synchronised weaving, bobbing and parallel swimming of the resident pair on brightening up your local park lake or reservoir. The male will even dive and offer his partner water weed and the dance finale involves a frantic paddling manoeuvre where the birds appear to run on water.

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Dog-violets in bloom

These discreet flowers are easily overlooked by those on a mission pounding along country lanes and beside hedge banks. But if you stop to look along the ferns and grasses, you’ll soon see dozens of these glorious little blooms.

Early dog-violets can be spotted in March, followed by common dog-violets and sweet violets. The latter prefers more open sites – in old pasture and churchyards – and is easily distinguished by its attractive aroma, which in medieval times was used to freshen up the household. Dog-violets have no scent.

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Goat willow explosion

Silken, silvery catkins, known as ‘pussy willow’, are the male flowers of the goat willow, our most common willow species. They first emerge in late January, one of the earliest signs of spring, and fully open up in March, becoming a brilliant yellow and attracting every pollinating creature in the neighbourhood. On a warm late March day, a goat willow is an excellent place to pause and see who’s about in the insect world. Goat willows can be found in wetlands, along ditches, park lakes and even urban wasteland.

Learn more about catkins in our expert guide

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 Frog spawn conjuring trick

While it might still feel like hibernating weather to us, mid February may see stirrings in the garden pond. A plop and sudden ripples as you approach mean that frogs have woken from their slumbers in the pond-bed mud and are in the preludes of mating. Spawning happens overnight so you might awaken to find you’ve missed all the action – billowing clouds of bubbly spawn fill the pond margins and the frogs sit around smoking their metaphorical post-coital cigarettes. Keeping watching the spawn though. The transformation of the black dots within into viable living things never loses its magic.

Guide to frogs and toads: when do they spawn and how to care for them

January and February is a key time for frogs and toads as they spawn in ponds across Britain. Our expert guide to frogs and toads explains what to look out for and how to care for the amphibians in your garden.

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Good hare days

The new growth of grasses, herbs and wildflowers is a massive boost for hares in spring. They do not hibernate so, being large and active mammals, they need a constant supply of food throughout the year – something that only habitats rich in native flora can provide. As these have become rarer, so have hares. But now is one of the best times to see them – before the vegetation has grown high enough to hide them. Look for hares silhouetted on downland ridges or running, antelope-like, across fields of autumn-sown cereals.

Boxing March hares

This spring see one of Britain’s greatest wildlife spectacles – boxing March hares. Our guide to explains why and when hares box and the best places to see in the UK.

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Bluebells ringing

Bluebells flower in April and May and in the UK and there are two types of bluebell which grow wild. These include the native bluebell, which is also known as the English or British bluebell, (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) and the Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica), which can now be found across much of Britain.

One of the most welcoming signs of spring, make the most of the bluebell season this with our bluebells guide – learn when bluebells flower, how to tell the difference between English and Spanish bluebells and the best places to see.

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Crocuses spring up

A Dutch breed, C.vernus was introduced to produce the variety of petal colours we see today. These delicately veined flowers spring into life from March, adding a vibrant splash to the yellow of traditional spring Daffodils.

These crocuses have larger bulbs than their English cousins and thrive in thick grass and woodland moss.

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Oil beetles emerge

There are four species of oil beetle found in the UK; black, violet, rugged and short-necked. They are flightless beetles which release oily secretions when distressed. Despite their name, the black and violet oil beetles may have a black, blue or purple shine to their abdomen, identifiable only by the texture of their thorax. A female is photographed above, identifiable by her enormous abdomen which swells when she eats or is ready to lay eggs.

These stunning insects have a one of the most complex life cycles of the insect world After hatching in the soil, the larvae of oil beetles must quickly find a food source – pollen being the preferred choice. Larvae position themselves in a spring flowers, awaiting a mining bee to catch a ride on. They are then transported back to the nest where they munch their way into adulthood, before emerging with the other hatchlings to start the whole cycle again.

Delve into our British beetle guide for more detail on other species

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Japanese cherry blossom

Blossom is a key features of spring. Japanese Cherry blossom is one of the most popular garden trees in the UK, their flowers varying from bright white to deep pink. These trees bloom from early April for just 14 days before leaves begin to grow.

There is a great deal of symbolism in the blossom cycle in Japanese culture; the flowers represent the fragility and beauty of life while the annual cycle of blossom to leaves is a reminder of renewal and optimism.

How to identify spring blossom

As light flows slowly into our woodlands and hedgerows, once-bare branches begin to bloom. The brief blossoming of rowan, wild cherry and hawthorn is a magical spectacle, wreathed in ancient folklore. Our guide on how to identify spring blossom found in the UK and best places to spot blossom.

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