Just thinking back on notable wildflower sightings in 2025; one in particular springs to mind. I had always thought that Wood Anemones were not present anywhere in the countryside around Hitchin.

 However I walked a section of the Chiltern Way adjoining Hitch Wood in late-ish April and came upon a pocket of open woodland where they were growing in great profusion among Bluebells.

  Wood Anemones are sometimes found in ancient Bluebell woods but not always. Typically Anemone nemorosa flowers before Hycinthoides non-scripta but Bluebell season was early this year and they overlapped. A delightful discovery.

 

 The first entry on this blog was way back in January 2017. I noted that the first plant to flower in my garden was a Stinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus). Indeed the species is well known as winter flowering from January onwards. 

 In recent years I've seen them coming into flower as early as mid-November in some places and that is true again this year. It's not unusual for the growth cycles of plants to vary by a few weeks according to the vagaries of the weather. However the biological clock of H. foetidus seems to have undergone a distinct shift; is this suggestive of a more fundamental change in climate?

 Having said that we're in the middle of a cold spell here in southern England with sub-zero nights and a penetrating damp chill in the air. That shouldn't be unusual but warmer winters have become the norm since I was a lad. The Hellebores at the music school (above) were fringed with frost which won't trouble them. 

 Walking in search of wildflowers will have to wait till spring now. Nonetheless some of my favourite locales near Hitchin are equally scenic for winter walks. Like the Pegsdon Hills.

Knocking Hoe.

 And the Barton Hills.  

 

 The autumnal countryside is not entirely bereft of wildflowers. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) flowers from July into November. Typically a white flower, sometimes deep pink and shades in between.

 

 As the leaves fall structure is revealed, as with this Chinese Virginia Creeper (P. henryana).

 

 Lifting the Dahlias. Hailing from Mexico and Guatemala originally they don't like Britain's cold and damp winters. Some gardeners in southern England do leave them in the ground covered with a thick mulch. Traditionally they are lifted and stored indoors over winter. 

 In both cases the stems are cut to a few inches above the tubers. If lifted the earth should be removed as much as possible. Some gardeners wash the earth off, some don't. Some leave them upside down for a few days to drain excess water from the stems, some don't. Some store them in dry compost over the winter months, some wrap them in newspaper, some simply leave them in boxes or crates (as here).

 The main consideration is to store them indoors in a space with which is dry, not heated but where they will not freeze.  If they get too dry they shrivel, too damp they rot, too cold they die. As long as they make it through to spring they can be replanted for next year's display.

 

 Last mow of the year at the music school. Traditionally early to mid-November is the period for the final cut. After that growth is minimal until spring.    

 The old adage is that if your boots get wet walking across the grass then it's too wet to cut. Today was a misty morning i.e. damp. Cloudy sun and a light breeze dried out the lawn sufficiently by lunchtime to go for it. My boots were moistened by the end but not saturated.

 There are several good reasons for not cutting grass when it's wet. The blades rip rather than cut which also tugs at the roots. The blades get blunted quicker by wet grass. If the going is too soft the weight of the mower may leave unsightly indentations. Anyway a nice trim was achieved after the lawnmower posed for this photo opportunity. 

 Mowing the lawn was a favourite activity when I was a kid. As well as our own garden I would trundle the lawnmower across town to cut the grass for my gran. The child is father to the man? 

 

 I have been travelling back and forth between London and Hitchin a good deal in recent years. The train journey through the Hertfordshire countryside is (literally) a window on the seasons as they change.  

 Hitchin station is located in a deep cutting through chalk; amazing to think it was excavated with pick and shovel. The trees that colonise the banks above have morphed through their autumnal hues. Bare branches are stark against the skyline as the last leaves fall. 

The 'fall' has been taking it's time this year, long and colourful.