Early blooming for Ulster
IT'S only January and us humansmay be complaining about the miserable weather but it seems our floral friends are thriving in the unseasonably mild and wet winter.
The green-fingered among us will
have noticed some of spring's delights
already popping their heads out of the
winter soil and gracing us with their
colour.
Flowers which usually herald the
beginning of spring have been blooming
over the past number of weeks,
with reports of some blossoming at
Christmas – before the new year had
even begun.
Daffodils and snowdrops are appearing
in gardens across the Province,
and flowers such as witch hazel and
early-budding crocus are making an
appearance too.
Reg Maxwell, parks manager for
Belfast's Botanic Gardens, said they
have recorded blooming spring
flowers since December.
"Our first daffodils were out on
December 18, they're flowering now,
and the witch hazel is in full flower.
The snowdrops are up too," he said.
"The first time we had snowdrops up
was the Saturday after Christmas. The
early-budding crocus are out in places,
except the snow was a bit hard on
them."
These types of flowers usually come
out in February, so something must
have changed to make them behave in
this uncharacteristic way – and it
seems the wet summer and mild winter
is the reason behind it.
"If you have a soft, mild winter, you
get a faulty spring, with flowers coming
into bud quicker than they
should," said Mr Maxwell, but he
warned if there was "a cold snap" then
many of the flowers could be damaged
or even die.
"We have fuschias and geraniums
flowering, which if you got a bit of
frost would nip them off. The flower
would die but not the whole plant.
Daffodils and snowdrops can stand it,
but the more shrubby type plants,
because they're so soft there can be
damage to the branches and new
shoots," he said.
The News Letter's gardening columnist,
John Cushnie, said Ulster is
"coming down" with flowers at the
minute.
He has spotted daffodils and daphne
flowers, snowdrops and primroses,
and said a few plants still have their
flowers and leaves on them from last
year.
"It's totally out of season, but as far
as I'm concerned it's great. Just take
benefit from them. It's lovely on a
dull, wet day in January to look outside
and see the flowers," he said.
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Weather for Belfast
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South
