Over a bleak Easter, too cold to garden, I listened to Radio 4’s In Pursuit of Spring presented by naturalist Matthew Oates. It followed Edward Thomas, poet and naturalist, on his Easter journey by bicycle from Clapham in South London to the Quantocks in Somerset exactly one hundred years ago. As Thomas travelled westwards to Somerset he left the bustle of a cold, wintry London and was greeted by a spring-like tranquil Somerset. Crossing Salisbury Plain, in indifferent weather, he heard larks, chiffchaffs and thrushes galore. He recorded his journey in his spiritual book, In Pursuit of Spring. A centenary edition is now available. Thomas, who was to die on the Western Front in 1917 aged 39 years, deplored the traffic, although I believe he only encountered three dust-producing cars on his entire journey. Needless to say he didn’t like them at all. His poetic observations about the natural world are second to none and he could see a decline even then. What would he make of it now? Listening to Matthew Oates’ three-part programme brought spring a little nearer, but it exploded a couple of days later when I visited an Alpine Garden Society show. The benches groaned with primulas, saxifragas, crocus, cyclamen and small bulbs all grown in pristine pots under glass. Alpines, which are seen as old-fashioned by many gardeners now, deserve a wider audience because they can defy a cold spring if grown under glass. Seeing immaculate (and easily grown crocuses) looking so lovely made me wish I had potted up a few in autumn to make up for the weather-beaten display in my own bulb lawn. Oh for a crystal ball!

There were pots of vivid yellow winter aconities, starry blue Anemone blanda, neatly spiked muscari, all displayed in simple terracotta dressed in grey grit. These miniature works of art hark straight back to the florist’s shows where growers carried their plants for miles in order to win a coveted first prize. Auriculas had their heyday in the 1870s in Yorkshire and Lancashire. The cooler conditions close to the Pennines suited them well and they took up little room in the tiny backyards of rapidly expanding towns and cities. Seeds were easy to collect. The open flowers could be crossed with a rabbit’s tail and the seedlings offered variety. They were the perfect florist’s flower, grown and bred for decoration with exhibition and rivalry in mind. Enthusiasts carried their prize plants in wooden racks on their backs, rather like a rucksack, as they walked to local shows. The pots were dropped into holes in the shelves to keep them secure and covered with a roof: these wooden structures inspired auricula theatres. The shows were noisy affairs with lots of banter. They were held at local inns in upstair rooms and the show was advertised by a large copper kettle hung outside. This was the main prize. Plants were passed from hand to hand round the table and, after the winner was chosen, a feast ensued and much ale was drunk. My auriculas, which would normally be out and on my own auricula theatre by now, are looking very sorry for themselves following last summer’s wet weather, which they hated. Like all alpines they like good drainage and an open situation with clear skies. Most alpines flower in early spring and many are easy to grow in troughs or raised scree beds with lots of gravel. The Alpine Garden Society is well worth joining and there is an excellent journal and a seed exchange. (Call 01386 554790 or visit alpinegarden society.net) There is an Oxfordshire Group that meets in Kidlington (01865 316229/celia.sawyer@btinternet.com). The next AGS show, relatively near to Oxford, will be at Arden School, Station Road, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 0PT on April 20 between noon and 4pm. Plants will be for sale from Aberconwy Nursery, Blackthorn Nursery, Desirable Plants, Diane’s Hardy Plants, Parham Bungalow Plants, Potterton’s Nursery and the Thuja Nursery.