Yes, it is taking its time. Night-time temperatures are indeed critical, and should be higher where I live in sunny Upminster (which actually has been as dull as anywhere else recently) than in Graham's Ingatestone, but I can't say I have noticed much difference! Cool days prevent growth as well. The 'growing degrees days' have been very sparse. The actual minimum temperature for each species of plant to start growing is different, as you might imagine, but many common plants including most grasses don't do much until temperatures are above about 6°C, which has not happened much yet. Cherry Plum has been out here for a few days, and Blackthorn is now opening well. Lots of Colt's-foot is open, and the smaller speedwells such as Green Field-speedwell V. agrestis and Grey Field-speedwell V. polita are open, and we have quite a few plants of the bright blue flowers of Early Forget-me-not M. ramosissima. But I would have expected a bit more by now.
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The weblog below is for naturalists to use to report interesting sightings, ask questions, report on field meetings and generally post pictures and any information or questions generally relevant in some way to the wildlife and geology of Essex. You will need to register and be logged-on to post to the forum, and you need to upload pictures first, for use in posts. Find out more