After some pretty wild weather last week, Friday dawned bright and calm and felt positively spring-like. I saw some marigolds on my way to work, followed by a camellia in flower, and then a daffodil. Summer followed by spring in the space of a few footsteps.
At lunchtime I went to Regent’s Park to see what was happening there. Half the beds in the Rose Garden had been cut right back, but the rest of them were flowering their socks off. This article in the Telegraph implies that roses have come into bloom early this year as they’re confused by the weather, but I’d assumed they just hadn’t stopped since last summer.
It’s quite an odd sensation to sniff a rose in January, but you’ve got to get your kicks where you can at this time of year. This was the very aptly named ‘Keep Smiling’.
I’m inclined to agree with you, Veronica. The roses in my garden are flowering too, and they have been since last summer. They’ve got lots of buds on them too, which implies there’s more to come, unless the frost gets them.