Tuesday is historically seen as the first day of spring. But, after the UK's coldest winter for 10 years, many people have been left asking "where have all the flowers gone"?
Visitors to the recent opening of the Kew Gardens Spring Festival were left feeling a little disappointed to see just a handful of its 100,000 daffodils out.
That disappointment is shared by many people all over the UK who, by this time of year, are used to seeing their back gardens full of the vibrant colours of spring.
"This time last year, we were all basking in temperatures into the mid-60s and spring had well and truly arrived"
But veteran BBC weather presenter Michael Fish said the winter "wasn't particularly exceptional".
"This time last year, we were all basking in temperatures into the mid-60s and spring had well and truly arrived," he told BBC News.
"This year, in Fahrenheit terms, temperatures are about 20 degrees lower and winter is definitely hanging on."
But despite this, temperatures had still been "about average" over the winter period, he added.
"The problem has been that the last 10 winters have been so exceptionally mild that we got used to that weather and when it got back to normal weather, as you might call it, it came as a bit of a shock."
'Back to reality'
Tony Kirkham, head of the arboretum at Kew, agreed the British public had been "spoilt in the last few years".
"We have something like 5 million bulbs just waiting to burst. They will all come together and it'll be like a grand finale on a firework display"
"This is reality," he said.
"It means that we haven't got the spectacle that we would expect at present, and we just have to wait a bit longer.
"It will happen; everything's there waiting. The flowers understand nature and the weather and they don't want to break for fear of reprisal from cold frost," he said.
But when spring has finally sprung it would "absolutely be worth waiting for", he said, both in people's back gardens and, in particular, at Kew.
"We have something like five million bulbs just waiting to burst over the next few weeks and, rather than coming in sequence, they will all come together and it'll be like a grand finale on a firework display."
Easier life
Years of mild winters had led to the build-up of pests and diseases, Mr Kirkham said.
"This cold weather will really sort some of these pests and diseases out and make life easier for plants in the coming year," he said.
But the recent cold weather - it has been the coldest March across the UK since 1987 - is proving less advantageous for fruit and vegetable farmers, according to the NFU.
"Sometimes the season does catch up but there is uncertainty and stress for farmers and cash flow can also be destroyed"
For example, the weather had slowed down the production of strawberry plants cultivated in glass houses.
"Usually, they're expecting to pick them in April but, of course, that has to be put back."
Farmers who sold plants were also affected, he said, "because if it's cold, people aren't going to buy plants".
"Also, farmers use a lot of energy, particularly those who grow things under cover so in the cold weather they have to use even more.
"The cold weather puts everything back.
"Sometimes the season does catch up but there is uncertainty and stress for farmers and cash flow can also be destroyed."
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