The mild weather has certainly brought on the flora in my neck of the woods.  Bluebells are flowering a week or two earlier than usual here.  Our Hawthorn tree is also a couple of weeks ahead with buds ready to open, although I suspect they’ll hold back a little now it’s turned cooler. 

Last week I had a visit from someone who lives near Manchester and she was saying how much more advanced the trees are here.  

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The mild weather has certainly brought on the flora in my neck of the woods.  Bluebells are flowering a week or two earlier than usual here.  Our Hawthorn tree is also a couple of weeks ahead with buds ready to open, although I suspect they’ll hold back a little now it’s turned cooler. 

Last week I had a visit from someone who lives near Manchester and she was saying how much more advanced the trees are here.  

What a difference a hundred (or two hundred) miles makes!

I recorded the the first bluebells near here on 24th March; the hawthorn and wild cherry have both been out for a week or two.

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This story made me chuckle.
Garden grasses guru awarded rare RHS medal
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy9xld39y8lo 

Neil Lucas (left) received the medal from RHS president Keith Weed

 

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The worry over the next week or so is that with unusually cold air spreading across Britain, then if the wind falls light there could be some severely damaging frosts. The apple blossom is well started now ...

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The worry over the next week or so is that with unusually cold air spreading across Britain, then if the wind falls light there could be some severely damaging frosts. The apple blossom is well started now ...

Indeed David. What's unusual too is that I began watering some pots a week or so ago. Those recent gales and strong winds dessicated some plants in the garden. It is pleasant enough in a suntrap but the shade is another world. And when the sun goes down it's uncomfortable outside.
 

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Apparently it's been dry, for at least week, in this part of Cornwall. The farm we're staying on is about to put their cows on to grass today (and they're gorgeous looking cows and calves! Their two bulls are also big handsome beasts too) and the other local farms have started to get crops in the ground.
 
I wasn't sure where else to post this so hope it's not too off topic! I'm just so impressed and interested, you can tell they put in a lot of effort here to keep on top of things, that there's not even a whiff of a smell (well maybe just a little bit, and I mean just a little, it's not even noticeable) as our accommodation is adjacent to the cattle barns and I got to see them all have their "dinner" last evening. 😊

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The wind, low DPs and a dryish couple of weeks have brought back the problems of last Spring. If you sew seeds they need watering now and the tenperature is checking anything that germinates. However last April was similar and went on to be a bumper year on the allotment. I think the secret is to delay everything till later as October's seem warmer than May these days so the growing period is just later.

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People are complaining about a cold April but the trees in flower seem to have taken their cue from earlier mild weather. The foxglove tree (Paulownia) which I can see from my window is well into bloom. A few miles inland at West Dean, despite being in something of a frost hollow, the Paulownia there is just starting into bloom.

In Kent, and 30 years ago, the foxglove tree in the school grounds rarely flowered before late May, typically in half term so only a few people ever got to see it.

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The thing is, perhaps we've got too used to Spring being a 'warm' month. But to reach May without reaching 21C this far south would still be notable in my book. A week to go.
Yesterday was almost bleak with a high of 8C and light rain through the day. Today is better at 12.9C with complete cloud cover.
It's odd seeing almost summer like vegetation, the oaks are almost in full leaf but feeling chilly.

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