Perhaps the UK's plantlife thinks winter is over? After the surprisingly long period of early snow and ice we had a week or so of relatively mild and wet weather, and now many plants are covered in green buds, snowdrops are out and fat green shoots from bulbs are poking out of the soil. I've lost track of whether this is early or not (perhaps the snowdrops are largely on time, if a bit keen) since recent years have all been a bit freakish!