Please send your flower records

The extended deadline for flower records is Friday 19 April – that is this Friday bulb buddies! Please remember to send me your records on the website.

Remember to check the bulb-blog next week as I will be announcing the Competition winners!! Winners for the Flower Drawing Competition and the Win a Nature-Activity Trip will be announced on Monday 22 April.

Whose flowers have opened this week?

Lakeside Primary, Ysgol Bryn Garth, Christchurch CP School and Rhydypenau Primary School in Wales, Manor Primary School and Coppull Parish Primary School in England and Wormit Primary School in Scotlandhave all sent in flower records. Well done and thank you to these schools!

There has been a lot in the news recently about the cold and snow, and how late flowering is this year. Did you know it was the coldest March in the UK in over 50 years? And guess what? March was colder than the winter months of December, January and February! No wonder some of our flowers are late to open this year.

See BBC News or Met Office News for more information on these cold weather stories.

In March The Guardian reported that plants are late to bud and flower this year, especially in Scotland, and that hibernating animals like bats, frogs and lizards woke up then went back into hibernation because it was too cold!

Unfortunately, cold weather can lead to an increase in local air pollution. This is because we generate more pollution by using more heating, but also because when the air is cold and still, pollution particles build up in the atmosphere rather than evaporating or being blown away.

Many thanks

Prof P