The unofficial spring watch: an expat goes flower-spotting in the UK

According to the Met Office, meteorological spring for this year runs from 1 March till 31 May, and astronomical spring runs from 20 March till 21 June. Their definition is the following:

“Astronomical seasons refer to the position of Earth’s obit in relation to the sun, taking into account equinoxes and solstices. Meteorological seasons are instead based on the annual temperature cycle and measure the meteorological state as well as coinciding with the calendar to determine a clear transition between the seasons.”

After noticing that the mornings seem brighter and lighter, that new shoots and buds are growing in the garden, and the clump of flowering crocuses on the local traffic island, a friend and I decided to conduct our own unofficial Spring Watch. Sadly we never spotted any snowdrops, which would have been a sign of warmer weather.

Photos by Moira Rowan