Bearleigh and funny - it's VERY strange, but I find that timescales are very different for different plants. I compare with my Dad, who is in Suffolk.
Everything starts later, which is frustrating! But it lingers for a much longer time. For example, I have a lot of allium 'Purple Sensation' out right now (as I'm sure many of you have!) alongside my last few daffs and bluebells. My alliums are probably about 7-10 days behind those in the south, but they will last longer into July because it is so bleedin' cold. Yet my Bramley apple tree is normally bang on the same time as my father's. I guess some plants are more 'triggered' by temperature and others perhaps by light?
Where you really notice it is in vegetable gardening. The soil warms up very slowly, so my Dad's plants are always way ahead of mine, to the point that I sometimes panic.
Autumn seems to be all over the place. Last year it was really, really warm around Halloween. I was still harvesting courgettes off some plants that I put in late, in mid July!! 
What I have noticed is that it comes more harshly: the first frost is more likely to be a real stinker and will kill things if you are unprepared. Winters are much, much colder here than in Suffolk. We had lying snow for weeks last winter, whereas my parents didn't see any at all.
funny - I love the idea of all those roses. I do like the way that they plant them at Sissinghurst, in those amazing crowns.