And finally...
What’s in a name? Or, as we might say in 2024, what is the point of a name? Well, if we go back to primary school we know that names are given to things so that we can identify them and communicate more easily. In the garden, names are vital to differentiate a daffodil from a dahlia and a trowel from a trug. And as gardeners, spending so much of our time outdoors at the mercy of the weather, it is vital that we know the difference between drought and a deluge, the better to take precautions and to ensure the survival of our plants.
But is it really necessary for us to give a name to every strong wind that blows?
Are you bemused – and even irritated – that every storm now has to be glorified as Howard or Hilda? I mean, what’s the point? There is even a planned system of nomenclature that would almost rival that devised by Linnaeus for plants in 1753.
It all began in 2014, when the Met Office decided that the next strong wind would be called Abigail.