It certainly is. I counted 10 dog violet flowers in my lawn today!!

Its not only confusing the plants Merlin, I've changed all my gardening ways this past few years to go with the weather not the gardening calendar.....

confusion isn't really an issue for plants. {for us humans who use flowers as a calendar it is :o)) } plants flower in response to a range of factors. temp, daylight hours etc. That's why magnolias often have a second flush of flowers in the autumn as the day lengths are similar as in spring.

So violets in sept especially after a cool spell is the signal for the flowers to form as if it were spring.

Snowdrops in November are often the autumn flowering species not widely grown but a true correct time of the year for it to flower.

I think it can be, I noticed today that a new flower has appeared amongst the seed heads and yellowing leaves of my Hedychium!

Well done Merlin. Although you are in Devon and have had lovely weather, that is not typical of the rest of the country. I live in Northumberland which is about 500 miles north of you, and on the coast, so we have very different weather to you. So while you have it hot, we do not!

Which is why we moved south for our dotage...

Doreen, I'm sorry if you found my question insensitive to people who have not experienced the good weather. However, we don't resent questions from gardeners in hot countries even when we are in the depths of winter. I come from the north west and certainly don't miss the winters up there. Northumberland is a lovely part of Britain but clearly you don't appreciate the cooler climate. Perhaps you should consider Steragram's solution?

Thankyou to all for your comments and as so often happens Sbg shares her extensive botanical knowledge - always a treat. Just to add, my viburnum burkwoodii has started to flower, so the conditions here at present must be similar to those in spring. This site is so educational. Thankyou Sbg.

Well said Merlin, we've had a really good summer here in Lincs and still having good weather as I write.....

Our local nursery said today they have an apple tree with flowers and apples at the same time! (Not just the few odd flowers you sometimes get late in the season)

We are so lucky to have such a gorgeous September aren't we? i wouldn't object to some rain though as long as it's during the night. The birds too seem to be flourishing in the warm days and i guess it's the abundance of insects.
Thankyou again for such interesting comments.