I HAVE been struck by the profusion of blossom in the local hedgerows this year especially the hawthorn and may.

Here is an image of Haresfield Beacon rising above the flat plain of the Severn Vale in Haresfield, Gloucestershire carpeted with hedge rows containing a large amount of may flowers.

I love this time of year the acid greens of new growth contrast strongly with the brilliant whites of some many spring flowering plants and trees.

“Ne’er cast a clout till May be out.”

The saying is particularly poignant this year with the cold north/easterly blows and heavy cloud cover keeping night time temperatures low and days cool.

Its origin/ and meaning according to the Phrase Finder site would bear this out.

“Ne’er cast a clout till May be out” is an English proverb.

The earliest citation is this version of the rhyme came from Dr Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732, although it may have existed in word-of-mouth form well before that: “Leave not off a clout till may be out.”

The phrase would appear to translate to “do not remove your warm winter clothing, clout, till the month of may or the hawthorn or may is in flower”.

David R Joyce Stonehouse