The thing with a late spring is it is so difficult to keep up with all the changes that happen in the natural world.

As everyday sees new wild flowers come into bloom, different species of insect whizz past you and the landscape seems to change colour with each passing day as the trees start coming into leaf.

It as been quite a rush for the trees as many of the wind pollinated species usually flower before unfolding their leaves.

I suppose the leaves just interfere with the air flow around these structurally spectacular, but colour-wise a bit drab, flowers.

While it is quite common among wind pollinated trees to produce flowers before leaves, it is much less common to find a wild flower that does this, but there is one and it has been blooming in abundance over the last couple of weeks.

Coltsfoot is a big plant but over the winter it is easy to overlook as there is no evidence of it above ground, existing just as a network of white roots.

When trees grow, they extend their branches but coltsfoot grows by extending its root system, probably making this plant unpopular with your average gardener.

During the winter months, these roots hold the plant's winter reserves of nutrients and come spring the plant uses these to extend a single flower stem.

This stem is fairly weird as it is proportionally stout and is covered in large scales and there is not a leaf to be seen.

When the flower opens it is often over-looked as it is a member of the compositae family and looks similar to a dandelion.

This is the fate of a lot of otherwise interesting wildflowers so it is often worth giving plants that have a slightly odd dandelion-like appearances a second look and you will soon start appreciating that, like roses, these plants have a real beauty.

Whilst the flower can pass you by unnoticed, a little later in the year when the leaves erupt from under the ground and unfold to their full size you are certainly not going to miss this plant as its leaves are large and impressive.

As a child, I can remember running round using just a single leaf as a hat.

It is from these leaves that the plant gets its name as they are indeed in the shape of a young horse's hoof and a single plant can produce quite a profusion.