Daffodils defy Devon's big freeze

WE may be freezing in the middle of a bitter snap and the coldest start to winter for years.

But some unusually early activity in the garden has again sparked a debate on the effects of climate change.

To repeat the immortal words of poet William Wordsworth in his famous prose Daffodils, a host of the golden flowers are "fluttering and dancing in the breeze" at Killerton House, near Exeter.

Scores of the hardy little flowers are braving the plummeting temperatures and rock-hard ground to bring a splash of colour to the new year.

According to gardening experts with the National Trust at Killerton, the daffs are defying the weather and flowering weeks earlier than nature intended.

And the unusual appearance is expected to bring crowds flocking to the gardens.

But daffodils in the dead of winter is not without precedent.

In fact, they once bloomed there in December.

Kate Tuke, Killerton's head gardener, said: "This time in January seems early for the flowers.

"They have appeared despite the sharp drop in temperatures and are blooming in some of the sheltered parts of the gardens.

"We are seeing them a week or two before they generally make an appearance.

"And we were not expecting them to flower as early as this."

She said the daffodils had been fooled into blooming early due to previous mild winters.

"I think the plants could be confused over the weather patterns," she said.

"Added to this has been the fact that we have had a very cold winter so far and it is true that like us, plants may have been lulled into a false sense of security."

Which all goes to show that globally, the weather patterns could well be topsy-turvy.

Professor Nicholas Smirnoff, a farming and rural affairs expert at Exeter University said: "We can't say it is global warming because of fluctuations in weather year on year.

"But plants are appearing earlier — as I saw in Cornwall over Christmas."

He said that their earlier than normal growth could be attributed to what many saw as a mild autumn.

If you spot anything unusual in the garden contact the newsdesk on 01392 442238.