FORGET the winter blues for it seems that in some parts of Dorset spring has already sprung. But don't pack away your winter woollies just yet because it's not going to last!

Chris Allen, curator at Compton Acres in Poole, says snowdrops, daffodils and camelias are bursting out all over the place.

"It's as if the whole season has moved forward," he said. "I've been here three years and it's the earliest I've ever seen these flowers come up but I don't know how long they will last because there is still a risk of frost."

And Nigel Chalk, gardener and countryside manager at Kingston Lacy in Wimborne, says spring seems to start earlier every year.

"We were looking back through the records the other day and discovered that 50 years ago snowdrops didn't tend to appear until the end of February and were still around in late March. This year they started coming out just after Christmas."

And Mr Chalk, who has worked on the estate for 24 years, says the same is true for many other plant species.

"The primroses are at least three weeks early and the rhododendrons are about a month ahead of themselves too.

"But I don't think it is a good thing for the plants because it makes them weaker as their dormant period is so much shorter."

Just two months ago we were being told to dig out our wellies and woollies in readiness for one of the coldest snaps in years.

According to the experts, the south of England was going to be shivering in bitter winds and the north was going to be hit by some of the worst blizzards since 1987.

So far it hasn't turned out that way.

Last month has been confirmed as the warmest since 1990 with temperatures in England and Wales 2.3C above the 39-year average. Rainfall in the south of England since November has been barely half the seasonal average.

But local weatherman Richard Wild of Bournemouth-based Weathernet says the current warm spell isn't going to last.

"Temperatures are going to start dropping again to around 4-5 degrees by the end of the week so it will start to feel much colder.

"Although it's true that it has been much milder in the South, the same is not true for the UK as a whole which has experienced some cold weather this winter."

The Woodland Trust, which is running the Springwatch Project with the BBC, in which people are invited to report early sightings, said earlier this week that frogspawn had been found as early as November and that bumblebees and ladybirds were already about.

First published: February 2