Daffodil farmers are heralding the start of spring as the first flowering crops of the new year are being readied for harvest.

Against a recent backdrop of torrential downpours, snowfall and plunging temperatures, growers say winter’s grip on the British weather is relenting.

Some farmers began their harvests with 2013 barely a week old, though others are now seeing their fields turn a golden yellow.

And it was all thanks to a period of milder, wet weather between Christmas and new year. (AP)

Love tunes for tortoises

Pianist Richard Clayderman has been trying to bring endangered creatures out of their shells and put them in the mood for love – performing for giant tortoises.

The best-selling musician, who has been called “the prince of romance”, performed for the Galapagos tortoises at ZSL London Zoo in the build-up to Valentine’s Day.

The 59-year-old keyboardist played a selection of seductive tunes on a grand piano at their enclosure in a bid to encourage the reptiles to stage a performance of their own.

Clayderman became a huge star in the late 1970s thanks to his track Ballade Pour Adeline, which is one of the biggest-selling recordings of all time. (AP)

Art goes deep underground

London Underground is celebrating its 150th anniversary in different ways and yesterday British Turner Prize winning artist Mark Wallinger unveiled one of his works as part of the Labyrinth art, on a platform at St James’s Park underground train station in London.

The Labyrinth commission consists of 270 unique works by Wallinger, one for each of the 270 stations on the London Underground train network.

The commission is one of the highlights of a series of special events being held this year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground. (PA)