We don’t usually do Valentine’s Day around here. How come I suspect someone who spent two weeks away from his daughter could refuse her nothing? I’m very happy to see some spring flowers anyway. We had fun examining the new buds in detail.

The primroses hide down under the older leaves and flowers. Their sepals gradually get pushed back to reveal the colour.

This (is it a Begonia? – no, it’s a Cyclamen, thanks, Marie) keeps its petals furled up. It was only on closer inspection that we noticed that the stem doesn’t unbend. The petals just open till they point straight upwards, and the flower stays upside down.

The daffodil pushes up from the sheath at the top of the bulb. It grows from the outside of the plant, not the centre, as the primroses do.

The Hyacinth doesn’t seem to make new buds. But the flowers at the tip of the stem are still tinged with green.