Last week May Morning was celebrated in Oxford as it has been for over 500 years.

This year the usual Morris dancing, high spirits and general mayhem reigned – despite the rain.

The high point of the event is the traditional hymn sung by the Magdalen College Choir from the top of the college tower, but May Day very definitely harks back to more pagan times and certainly here in Oxford the streets always feature plenty of people decked in greenery and flowers in celebration of the beginning of the growing season.

The ancient Celts called this holiday Beltane and began celebrating at sunset on April 30. It marked the beginning of summer, time to move with the flocks up to the summer pastures.

People used to cut down young trees and stick them in the ground in the village to mark the arrival of summer.

People danced around the tree poles in celebration of the end of winter and the start of the fine weather that would allow planting to begin. Maypoles were once common all over England and were kept from one year to the next.

Schools would practice skipping round the pole for weeks before the final show on the village greens.

The end results would be either a beautiful plaited pattern of ribbons round the pole or a tangled cat’s cradle, depending on how much rehearsing had been done! For me, this is the best time of year – despite the huge workload that it brings for the Oxford Garden Design Team!

The signs of spring are unmistakable with buds promising the summer to come.

In the woods the carpet of wild flowers, and especially the bluebells are stunning.

In the garden the perennials are coming out in bloom, borders are coming to like and the fruit trees are in blossom and. You can even start thinking about planting out your containers although you need to keep a close eye on the weather and wait if you are planning to use any frost sensitive plants. Those tempting tender geraniums and other non-hardy annuals are best left in the garden centre until all threat of frost has gone (usually by mid-May in Oxfordshire.) The nights can still be too cold for them to survive.