Unexpected winter blooms

December 11 2015 | Garden

When you think of winter you picture frosty mornings and cold nights! So far, this winter, has been exceptionally warm meaning there have been some unexpected winter blooms in the gardens here at Hever.

‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’ Daffodils line the edge of the Castle. They should flower from Christmas Day, but the unseasonally warm weather has coaxed them to shoot up and sprout as early as November this year.

There is also Cherry Blossom flowering across the grounds near the entrance to the Castle and outside the Moat Restaurant. The early bloom means that if there is a hard frost now, the flowers will die and sadly may not recover in time for the traditional bloom boom in the early spring.

The Acacia tree has also started to bloom in the Sunken Garden. Also known as the golden wattle, it is Australia’s national flower; in their climate it flowers from late winter through to November which is their summer, in the UK it normally flowers from February onwards.

Despite all of this, the gardeners have noticed that the holly berries haven’t been touched by the birds yet. Instead the birds have been eating food at ground level, this supposedly indicates that they are saving the berries for harsh conditions ahead.

Has your garden shown any signs of predicting the weather this winter?