Allendale, Northumberland: Winter aconites, out before even the snowdrops, pop up in unexpected places
Since early January, their sulphur yellow buds have been tightly closed, holding promise in their gently pointed, six-petalled domes. A song thrush has flicked through the leaf litter around them, casting wary backwards glances. A stoat has skipped along beneath the sycamore branches. Mornings have been frosty or damp or flecked with snow.
Now, in a blaze of unfolding, their petals (technically sepals) have opened to the sun and each flowerhead seems to have doubled in size. Winter aconites, out before even the snowdrops, they have pushed aside the decaying leaves of the woodland border to pop up in unexpected places, among lungworts, under hellebores, between box hedge and path, with exuberant freedom.
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