21 Dec 2006 : Heathrow airport was forced to operate at 50% capacity due to freezing fog.  The weather was not that severe in Chesterfield but the ground frost had not cleared for a few days. 

 

Many plants are triggered by the circadian rhythm and daylight hours.  Others seem to respond more to temperature and, in particular, to the absence of hard frost.  This page notes plants which were still in flower and leaf in our garden, when they should have been dormant.  The photos were taken between the 19th and 22nd of Dec 2006.  Flowering times in previous years are shown in parentheses.  We hope that records such as these will be useful to those studying the effects of climate change on vegetation. 

Note:  Click on thumbnails for larger images.

 

2006 may have been an exceptional year.  The autumn colours had also been quite outstanding (see River Rother - Autumn 2006). 

Update in Jan 2007 :  Autumn 2007 was not as colourful and winter 2007 was exceptionally dull.  It was the wettest year with wettest June on record with extensive flooding (film being edited) and there were very very few sunny days in December and early January. 

Unusual activity

Plants which have been previously active in December

Plants which we look out for in winter

Mahes Visvalingam
Last updated on 14/01/08