Amid the wet and grey gloom of February, gardeners across the UK are reporting that crocuses are pushing through their lawns and borders weeks ahead of schedule. This phenomenon is no quirk of nature. Crocuses flowering early in 2026 is a sign of shifting seasons, driven by a unique combination of biological triggers and record-breaking UK weather patterns. Crocuses are thermoperiodic plants, which means they rely on temperature cues rather than day length to dictate their lifecycle. Their corms (a type of bulb) also usually need a cold spell in autumn to prompt an annual reset before they will start to grow toward flowering around March. Do the seasons feel increasingly weird to you? You’re not alone. Climate change is distorting nature’s calendar, causing plants to flower early and animals to emerge at the wrong time. This article is part of a series, Wild Seasons, on how the seasons are changing – and what they may eventually look like. In a typical year, this process unfolds gradually. But if soil temperatures stay mild in autumn …