Early Spring?

[gardeninginagale]

I was cutting down an overgrown honeysuckle in Reay today, and when I say overgrown, I mean three van loads. But it was leafing out all over. Pruned some Buddleja too, with leaf buds bursting all over. We have had a hard spell last few weeks, but a very mild back-end. Shrubs are leafing out now, very early, despite the frost. I reckon the mild back-end is responsible for the early leafing-out, but I am a gardener, not a botanist. Any botanists or gardeners like to comment?

[Anji]

I've had quite a few shrubs come into bud, but in many cases the buds were then killed off by frost. I'm just hoping that they all recover as they did last year after the same thing happened. If the mild back-end is to blame, I just hope Mother Nature organises a mild 'front end' in future to prevent this.

[gardeninginagale]

Mother Nature generally makes a better job of sorting it all out than we do!