Have you noticed that people are saying ‘oo first signs of spring’ and ‘we are nearly through it’? Now I am lucky enough to work with the seasons and be outside during daylight hours, so perhaps winter doesn’t affect me anything like it does with office workers, but still, I am not ready to finish with it yet. There is still a whole month left and I am here for it.
My favourite winter things -
Lying prostrate on the sofa reading or watching a movie under a blanket
The woodburner on full whack
The heated blanket in bed
Slow mornings
Hellebores
Narcissus paper whites
My birthday
Scented winter shrubs
Long dark evenings to rest
Turning the page on the year
Writing my ‘more and less’ list
Slow cooking
Roast dinners
Planning planting
Looking ahead to the year
And just one month more might be optimistic. We have had unseasonably both cold and hot springs the last few years. I asked a tree nursery when the end of the bare-root season might be this year, and he told me of the oft ‘second winter’ unpredictable but not unusual in March. The few times we have a snow fall, it has been in February.
I live for the seasons. They anchor me. I garden to know me, to connect. I think through ideas, problems and challenges when I garden. I have’t yet got bored of any garden tasks in my own spaces, because the last time I did it, felt so long ago. Raking leaves, edging beds, lifting dahlias, sowing seeds for the first time this year. Then into the summer, the first basil, oh tomatoes, tulips, roses and everything else. I can just about remember what the cut grass smells like from the summer. What a joy that we have seasons in the UK to track our year around.
I was reminded of how brilliant February can be:
Austin said that we expect too much from January and not enough from February. Days are certainly lengthening, and by the end of the month it is light by 5.30pm! Suddenly woosh that’s winter over, even if it is still cold. Growth begins all around and I know March, with long sowing lists and increase in tempo is around the corner and I must rise from my sofa. Put my soft joggers away for the year and buy some spf. I sound like I am not looking forward to it, I am, but we still have another delicious month to enjoy right now.
Constance Spry got it,
“China tea, the scent of hyacinths, wood fires and bowls of violets – that is my mental picture of an agreeable February afternoon.”
So forgive me if I flinch when someone seems to want to press fast forward on this part of the year. I love winter for the rest and rejuvenation. I like hibernating. Reflecting on went past and considering what is to come. To try and make amends for mistakes last year with intentions for the next. I am not ready for spring yet, and nor is the garden. We haven’t really had a deep frost, just a few practices. I know the gardens would do better for a good cold spell.
I also think that whilst scarce, some of the most beautiful plants are in flower in the winter and the season is worth welcoming for that alone.
Here are some of my favourite Winter Plants -
Some not pictured but I plan on growing this year -
Clematis chirrosa (I want to grow this through the hawthorn tree - they have similar leaves so it will be a nice surprise when the leaves fall.)
Garrya elliptica - this is just great for winter events, the tendrils are like curtain tassels creating wonderful shapes.
And the rest that fit into the size limit imposed on here….
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You capture the magic of winter and slowing down perfectly. Beautiful photos.
Thank you Frances. I'm making plot plans and looking out of the studio onto sunny plots right now.
Magic!