THE WARMER than usual weather of 2018 has helped bring forward the time in which flowers appear this year, with Chirk Castle among the top spots to see spring colour in Wales.

Last year’s hot summer coupled with a milder winter means that spring flowers are appearing earlier than normal across North Wales in 2019, while also producing even more dazzling displays.

Bodnant Garden, in Colwyn Bay, witnessed the opening of Rhododendrons and bluebells around three weeks earlier than expected.

The first Meconopsis of the year has also appeared, with the striking Blue Himalayan Poppy blossoming earlier than usual, while Dyffryn Gardens, in Cardiff, were graced by the flowering of Magnolias for the first time in decades.

The Wisteria Floribunda, which was introduced to Powis Castle in the 1800s, has soaked up the warm weather on the Aviary Terraces and is also bursting with flower buds.

Early indications show that the weather pattern over the last eight months is making for a more colourful spring and could result in a longer season, so long as the conditions stay mild.

Patrick Swan, Parks and Gardens Consultant for the National Trust said: “The warm dry summer of 2018 was very good for many of our deciduous flowering trees and shrubs.

“The warmth ripened the wood and produced energy in the leaves which created the fantastic autumn colour that we saw last year.

“Now, in the following spring, this ripened wood throws up a fantastic display of blossom and flower. Definitely a time to dress for the weather and get out and about to enjoy our best in show!”

The floral displays in gardens across Wales benefit from the nation’s mild and moist climate, combining to produce perfect growing conditions for gardens.

Skilled gardeners across National Trust properties in Wales grow exotic and native plants together, producing a mix of flowers which create an amazingly colourful display.

Chirk Castle is among the recommended places in Wales to best see the spring colour, with the National Trust also naming: Bodnant Gardens, Dyffryn Gardens, Powis Castle, and Errdig.

Around the Chirk Castle area of North Wales, the National Trust say that a mixture of large shrubs and rockery plants provide an array of colour in the gardens which cover over 5 acres of land.

As well as Azaleas and Rhododendrons, Chirk homes clipped yew trees, herbaceous borders, beautiful rose, shrub and rock gardens, and a wooded pleasure ground which is currently beaming with bluebells, making it a haven for garden enthusiasts.

The wonderful spring flowering news doesn’t end there, though. The National Trust believe there is still much more to look forward to, including the first flush of roses climbing the pergolas on Bodnant Garden’s Italianate terraces from the beginning of June.

But before that, the Laburnum Arch at Bodnant Garden is already budding, and the popular spring spectacle is expected to reveal itself in all of its magnificent glory around mid-May.

Wisteria in the Pompeian Garden and on the south terrace of the mansion at Dyffryn Gardens are already starting to flower and are expected to be on full display in May.