The winter flowering cherry of Seymour Road

I've always been a little puzzled by one tree in Seymour Road that seemed to come into blossom in the middle of winter. Was this a sign of milder winters? Climate change in action?

This year, it has pink blossom on it before its autumn leaves have even dropped.

So I asked the street tree expert Paul Wood, who tweets as @The StreetTree.

I need not have worried that this tree's behaviour was a sign of milder winters messing with the seasons. This is a winter flowering cherry, Prunus x subhirtella, which flowers from November through to April, and which has been specially cultivated in Japan simply because humans wanted something pretty to look at in the winter months. 

An effect I think they have achieved. 

To find out more about this street tree, click through to Paul's blog, The Street Tree