This is one of our field maples, Acer campestre, growing next to the circular path at the top of Simpson’s Field. The photograph was taken on April 1st 2021.
As yet, our field maple flowers and leaf buds are in winter mode, wrapped up in overlapping bud scales to protect them from the cold.
Winter field maple buds are reddish brown with white bud scale edges, arranged in opposite pairs. The bud scales fall away and the flower or leaf emerges.
The buds formed at the end of last year’s growing season and will begin to swell as the mean spring temperature rises, triggering physiological changes that will make the bud scales open and fall away, allowing the leaf or flower to emerge.
Whereas the spring of 2021 was a full degree (1°C) colder than the long term average and delayed the bud burst of many of our trees, January 2024’s temperature was just about average. So far February, at least in the west of the UK, is proving to be slightly warmer than average. If Wiltshire can avoid the influence of the polar vortex forecast for the east of the UK at the end of February, our field maples should flower earlier than they did in 2021.
Let’s see.
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 
Nice post ✍️