Unseasonal unexpected combinations

OK, I have stopped calling things unseasonal because that's apparently the new norm now. My Rosemary was in flower on Christmas Day, that's pretty tall order in Newcastle climate

Here are the latest unexpected combinations:
Foxglove and Gladioli- they were supposed to take turns in flowering!


Viburnum that usually flowers from January, with Buddleya:

And most unexpectedly, Chives doing their second round of flowering:


I guess the flowering period description is becoming redundant with plants trialling a bit of this and that in our changing climate. It makes sense, they'll have to adapt to see if flowers and consequent seedlings would have a good chance should the next season be favourable.

My Dad just told me that in the arctic part of Finland where the tallest trees are knee high birches, they have dug up 6000 years old pine logs in a swamp. So 6000 years ago the nowadays tundra (with strategically placed shopping malls and gaming venues) used to be well forested.

The only reason I sometimes wish to live forever is to be able to look back and put things in perspective. It's very puzzling to try to make sense of a change solely via local observation and some reading. But interesting

 

I thought Finland lost its trees because they were all cut down for boat building by Vikings or something?
As for our gardens, I find it amusing to read old gardening books (I used to buy them in secondhand shops) that don't mention growing things perennially we now take for granted eg salvias.