Spring flowers burst into life
ONE of the most iconic spring flowers has been spotted in full bloom a month ahead of schedule nestled among an Ipswich flowerbed.The daffodil reared its head earlier than expected alongside a geranium outside a flat in Norwich Road.
ONE of the most iconic spring flowers has been spotted in full bloom a month ahead of schedule nestled among an Ipswich flowerbed.
The daffodil reared its head earlier than expected alongside a geranium outside a flat in Norwich Road.
Evening Star reader Mike Herbert captured the image when he went to visit his father-in-law last weekend. He said: “My father-in-law planted some bulbs outside his ground floor flat and this one daffodil is in a sunny position and seems to come out early every year - but it's even earlier this time.”
Elsewhere in Ipswich, Frances Haggar spotted a premature snowdrop fighting off the winter chill.
A diminutive relative of the daffodil, the snowdrop is one of the first bulbs to bloom in the garden but is rarely seen this soon.
Mrs Haggar, from Harrow Close, said: “It just popped up in the back garden about a week ago. Ther are five of them out there now.
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“I've seen them appear in January before but never this early.”
Earlier this year gardeners saw snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils bloom ahead of spring following an unusually warm and wet winter. But the traditional spring varieties may have been coaxed into even earlier flowering this time round.
In an average year daffodils open in the last week of January at Kew Gardens, but the recent mild weather has made the flowers believe the coldest part of winter is over.
A sluggish summer and an earlier-than-usual winter blast have made it possible for some plants to have been fooled into blooming early.
Ian May, proprietor of Victoria Nurseries in Westerfield Road, put the phenomenon down to the location in which the flowers grow. He said: “If a plant or flower is in a sheltered area it is more likely to survive the winter and bloom early when the weather picks up.
“It's down to the reasonably warm winter we're having. The flowers are almost lulled into a false sense of security - but if there's a sharp frost it could nock them back a bit.
“I've seen them bloom before Christmas before but not for a long time.”
Have you seen any early blooming flowers in your area? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
