This current December looks set to be one of if not the warmest December on record, and this has profound implications for the natural world. Flowers that normally wait until early Spring to bloom are instead blooming at the beginning of Winter. We’ve seen bees come out, and birds which should have migrated are still present in the UK.
For gardeners, what does this mean? Thanks to the early flowering, what we’re likely going to see is a much less flourishing Springtime than typically seen, which means that the expected appearance many people were hoping for their garden during early April may not fully materialise. We could see failures of a number of plant species, and wildlife is also likely to affected.
It’s not all bad news though, as the extra heat is allowing many plants to get an extra couple of months of growing in before they batten down the hatches for winter. Plants which would usually struggle with Winter may well be able to reach Spring far more robustly than usual.