Update2025 | Roehampton Garden Society

Spring is here – we all love to notice signs of renewal of the season – but when exactly is the start of Spring?

There are three different measures we can use:

Meteorological – fixed every year to ensure statistics are consistent throughout time. Spring in the northern hemisphere starts on 1 March and autumn on 1 September. Dates have been decided using temperature data.

Astronomical – follows the equinox and can vary slightly each year. Spring falls between 19-23 March and autumn 22-24 September. In 2025 astronomical Spring begins on the 20th March

Phenological – follows biological events and their response to weather and climate. This is a fascinating study which shows how nature reacts to changes in climate. Nature’s Calendar uses public sightings of plants, animals and fungi to track the effects of weather and climate on nature. This is a Citizen Science project from the Woodland Trust.

To see how this works see the BBC article here . Find out more about the Nature’s Calendar project here

Peat Free compost is here and ever improving – but it’s a challenge to get to grips with the changes in growing. To help, the RHS has started a ‘Peat Free’ advice service and it’s open to all, not just members. To ask your question, just send an email to Nikki Barker at peatfree@rhs.org.uk

It seems that we need to be more careful with watering – it’s not true that it doesn’t hold water well – but the top dries quickly and gives the impression of dryness. If we then water without checking further down, the waterlogged plant may die.