WHAT an amazing Easter weekend! The weather usually takes a turn for the worse whenever the nation takes a break. Not this time. Three days of continuous sunshine made it a real holiday weekend – hottest Easter Monday on record. The shorts were dug out of the back of the wardrobe; the barbecue was fired up. And more by luck than judgement, neither the cook nor the sausages were burnt.

In the midst of the glorious weather it probably escaped your notice that last Friday marked an unusual occurrence. Primrose Day is variously celebrated on either Good Friday or April 19. This year the two coincided.

“And all England, so they say,

Yearly blooms on Primrose Day.”

(Henry Cuyler Buller)

It certainly bloomed this year!

Primrose day became fixed on April 19 in the late 19th Century, marking the death of Benjamin Disraeli, one of that century’s greatest Prime Minister. A favourite of Queen Victoria, she famously sent a wreath of primroses to his funeral and to this day a wreath of primroses is placed by his statue outside Westminster Abbey on his anniversary. A few years later the Primrose Society, formed to honour his memory, encouraged supporters to wear primrose buttonholes on that date.

Primroses have long been associated with Easter and the start of summer; traditionally, children would pick wild spring flowers, primroses prominent among them, to present to their mother. The practice fell into disrepute in the 70s when we became more ecologically aware; picking wildflowers was strenuously discouraged. I can just remember a church from my childhood distributing bunches of violets!

The primrose is one of the most popular of all British wild flowers, coming a close second to the bluebell in a popular vote. The ‘prima rosa’ or first ‘rose’ of the year fell into decline in the latter decades of the 20th century, a victim of mechanised and industrial farming, its traditional hedgerow habitats were removed in the name of agricultural efficiency. But despite the delicacy of its soft yellow flower, the primrose is made of sterner stuff. It migrated out of view to thrive in ditches and with conservation rising up the political and agricultural agenda, it is once again prolific, though you may have to hunt a bit to find it.

One of the lovely things about Salisbury (as the Sunday Times noted) is its proximity to the countryside, with sites of Special Scientific Interest and rare plants and wildlife literally on our doorstep. Primroses may not float your boat, but a walk into the surrounding hills and their unrivalled over the city can be incredibly restorative – especially when the sun shines. And probably much more restful than joining the crowds on the coast.