THE Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that for everything there is a season—a time to be born and a time to die. Gardeners know that there is a time to sow and a time to reap.
January is the time to be gloomy. The days may be getting longer, but the frosts are getting harder. Snow disfigures everything it touches. Sixty years ago, we had 14ft snowdrifts along our mile-long drive in Northumberland and there were still unmelted piles of snow at Winchester when I returned to school after the Easter holidays. Don’t be fooled by climate
