Early spring flowers tend to be yellow it seems. Lesser celandine, daffodil, dandelion, colt's-foot, gorse and primrose all display lovely yellow tones. It isn't long though until white takes over with shrub blossoms and woodland plants coming through along with the early umbels such as cow parsley. Later, in summer there will be more mauves and purples before yellow returns in the autumn.
The primrose was once extremely common but, these days it seems, it is a little less so. Although far from rare one tends to encounter them only on bank sides and woodland edges, especially in sunny positions.
One problem has been the naturalisation of garden Polyanthus varieties which hybridise with the native primrose and then, once impure, the plant tends to die out. Modern agriculture and the loss of extensive stretches of hedgerow has not helped either.
Springtime without the primrose would surely be unthinkable. Along with the bluebell it surely sets the English countryside in March and April apart from the rest of the world!
Oh to be in England now that spring is here ...
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