SPRING, folklore says, begins on St Brigid's Day and a lark singing on the day of the patron saint of cattle and dairy work means a fruitful season.
The larks may or may not have sung yesterday but the sun did shine to mark the season's official arrival.
Plants, waking from their winter sleep, are blooming in the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin. Seasonal flowers and heathers are thriving and fluorescent tassels festoon the gardens.
The curator of the gardens, ME Christy Crosby, says: "Things are very normal - as normal as we have been getting them over the last few years.
"We had a very mild run up to the winter but that week of severe frost took care of unusual growth and killed off all those geraniums left over from the summer."
The witch hazel and Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis Mollis); are in full flower, he says, as are the Chaenomeles - better known as Japonicas, a flowering quince shrub with pink and white flowers.
The Rhododendron Nobleanum has started to blossom as has the Glasnevin wine, an early spring flowering shrub with long and drooping wine coloured blooms.
Snowdrops decorate the gardens' floors and crocuses will appear later in the month, with daffodils close behind.
A March appearance is forecast for tulips although wild forms of the flower bloom earlier.
An Post heralds the season with "love stamps" planned for Valentine's Day on February 14th.
The 32p stamps depict the frenzied aliens Zig and Zag in a sea of red hearts.
The State postal service expects to deliver about 500,000 Valentine cards, but begs people to write the addresses legibly and refrain from using lipstick.
"If you have to write SWALK [sealed with a loving kiss] on the back of the envelope, please use pen and not red lipstick.
"If you use red lipstick it will not be delivered because it soils everything else in the bag," said Ms Anna McHugh, of An Post.
"You can imagine people getting a letter from the Revenue Commissioners with red lipstick all over it. People will think the Revenue Commissioners are using lipstick on their letters," added Ms McHugh.
The welcome sunshine, meanwhile, is expected to last for the next day or two but clear skies bring the risk of colder, frostier weather.
The south coast will remain cloudy with patches of drizzle.
There will be a change over the weekend when milder, wet and windy weather comes in from the west on Sunday or Monday.