It's Christmas In England, Which (Of Course) Means That The Daffodils Are In Full Bloom
Unseasonably warm weather across the UK has seen daffodils begin to bloom as far north as Chester and Northern Ireland, as forecasters reported one of the mildest starts to the month of December in over 50 years.
The flowers, more usually associated with Easter than Christmas, have been seen around the country in a week when daytime temperatures were as much as 10C above the seasonal average.
Greg Dewhurst, a forecaster from the Met Office, said: “The weather pattern has brought low pressure after low pressure, with mild conditions from the south. We would normally expect a variation in the wind direction at this time of year, with wind from the north bringing high pressure and leading to overnight frosts and fog. But because it has been so mild, windy and cloudy it has not allowed for colder weather to settle in.”
Guy Barter, the chief horticultural adviser at the Royal Horticultural Society, told the Telegraph that it was the earliest he can recall seeing daffodils in bloom. “I have always scoffed at the idea of flowers before Christmas but I will have to eat my words,” he said. “We are in unknown territory in many ways. What consequence it will have, we don’t know.” He explained: “Daffodils have a mechanism to sense temperature and after a defined period of cold (generally about 2-10C) they are triggered to flower, and they will then flower according to ambient temperature.”
EDIT
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/16/daffodils-england-northern-ireland-unseasonal-december-weather
