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.