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WE MAY be heading downhill to Christmas but the flora and fauna seem to be stuck in spring.

Hot on the heels of hollyhocks in November and a flowering cherry tree come ripe and juicy strawberries.

Keith Plummer has been growing the red fruit in his garden in Somerby Road, Poole, for seven years but never this late.

"I had a crop at the right time of the year and I left the plants in the growbag," he said.

"The leaves should be brown and off by now but they are flowering and the fruits are forming.

"They are about the size of a conker. I have eaten one and it's fine, although a little bit harder than normal. It's amazing."

Keith saw the story in the Daily Echo about the cherry tree in Oakdale which was shedding its autumn leaves at the bottom and had burst into bud at the top.

A daffodil has flowered in a Colehill garden, a duckling has been spotted in Poole Park and straggler swallows have been seen in Dorset.

The balmy weather in early autumn - November 2 was the hottest day ever in Bourne-mouth at 18.9C - has fooled nature into springing into life.

Across the country there have been primroses in Hampshire, elder and foxgloves in full bloom in Somerset, dragonflies mating, sparrows nurturing their young and red admiral butterflies fluttering.

"With such mild weather it seems that some plants have been fooled into the flowering cycle for a second time," said Dr Kate Lewthwaite of the Woodland Trust.

Their Nature's Calendar has received sightings from across the UK of plants bursting into bud at this time of year.

"Autumn seems to be stretching from summer to Christmas," she added.

Meanwhile the autumn leaves are in full colour, showing what this season should be about.

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