What is with this weather?

The spring is arriving consistently early with an ongoing lack of rain and warm weather in the early months of the year.  Yesterday we were the same temperature as Phoenix, AZ.  Madness.

It is interesting to compare this year with last year, lest we forget what early really looks like.  Iford sits in something of a rain shadow, compared to surrounding valleys, due to the local topography.  By this time in 2011, we had had a very snowy winter with prolonged freezing temperatures and our plants were even more advanced than they are now.  Compare the images below.  Although we didn't get the snow this year, the cold was certainly present; but after an unusually wet spell from September through to December, we haven't had meaningful rain for three months.  Bear in mind that in a 'normal' year, we would expect this to flower in about a fortnight.

March 22, 2011:

 March 24, 2012:

I hope really hope that this is not the new "normal" and that we can return to temperate, Atlantic weather soon - farmers are already feeling the drought very badly, and gardeners in the south west will be questioning whether or not they should even bother to bed out this year, following two winters in a row which were record breakingly cold, with droughts in February and March.  In the Eastern counties we already have hosepipe bans in place with a view to ensuring that domestic water supplies will not be interrupted in the Summer.

Cross your fingers, folks, but it seems like we're becoming increasingly Mediterranean (only with colder winters...) which in theory would suit Peto's Anglo-Italianate design style; except that the winters will mean some serious thinking in terms of our planting scheme, maintenance schedule, materials used (limestone just flakes away in freezing damp conditions...).  Cypresses have been under attack from the Seiridium virus, and we have had to replace a number of near-mature trees this year;