Sunil Since last Summer I’ve been trying to get organised for each month’s GBBD or “Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day” and have failed every time. I’m not very organised, I blame it on work getting in the way and a reluctance to get up early on the day to take pictures – oh, and the weather.
Well this month is different, it might be February, in the middle of winter and just about the worst month that one could start with, but I finally made it outside and took pictures of the few brave plants that were in flower. It didn’t take long and I was still a bit late for work but it’s the effort that counts.
So, for winter-blasted February we have:
The classic snowdrops. Now these are on the verge of opening, but take my word for it that there are other clumps, which are a week or two more advanced, they’re just more difficult to take a picture of.
Then we have the Bergenia Cordifolia or the “Elephant Ears”, they always have a flowering period in the winter. Granted, these flowers aren’t huge, but the whole bed looks like a big leaf salad with cheery flashes of bright-pink as you move around.
Finally there is the Sarcococca Confusa or “Christmas Box” that has both flowers and berries on it at the moment. There haven’t been as many flowers on it this year and so I haven’t managed to smell it as much as I’ve wanted to, which is disappointing, but I have grabbed many of the berries, extracted the seeds and they’re now outside, scarifying and getting ready for planting in the Spring.
One plant in the, “it’s not mine but flops over the fence from next door” category is the Winter Honeysuckle, which was amazing last year and you could smell the sweet fragrance wafting about the garden. It’s in flower again now but it had a hard prune last Autumn and is much sparser. Since it’s close to the ornamental cherry, I might just use the tree to provide it with a taller frame than the fence can manage.
So there you have it; my first – if somewhat meagre, given it’s February in a small garden – contribution to the GBBD. Someone is probably going to comment that it doesn’t start until April and I’ve missed the boat (or am a few months too early) but never mind, it’s the flowers that count.
10 comments
Nothing is more welcome than snowdrops at the tail end of winter.
Hi Jason, I agree. Although some people have taken that to the extreme – we went to visit our local, usually peaceful National Trust property today, to find that it was completely overrun with Galanthophiles – snowdrop enthusiasts – I’d forgotten that it is famous for it’s winter garden and many varieties of rare snowdrops that come out at this time of year.
I don’t have any snowdrops at all but think I might add some next fall. I don’t have anything blooming right now. My garden is asleep! I also have sarcocca but mine is sar. humilis and won’t be in flower until my crocus bloom in another month. I love the fragrance. 🙂
It’s such a gorgeously sweet fragrance isn’t it? I’ve collected the seeds from the berries of the sole plant I have with hopes of getting a whole seed tray of them going this year. They’re difficult to germinate and slow growing though, so this isn’t for the impatient!
You are right, snowdrops are hard to photograph. The flowers don’t photograph well from above and they are so small you almost have to get down on your abdomen in the mud to get the flowers.
I don’t get the galanthrophilia thing – snowdrops are nice but how come there is a special word for enthusiasts?
I always find it slightly odd – the fascination for minutely different snowdrops – the only differences seem to be in the green bits on the flowers; but don’t let them hear you say that!
Hi Sunil, February is the Winter month which I like, buds emerging, a few blooms like your Snowdrops starting to show and best of all the sun is finding its way back into our garden which sees not of it in Dec/Jan. .
Hi Alistair, February is probably the low point of the year for me, so close to spring yet so far. We still have cold days and frost at night, there are buds but they’re not going to open any time soon, the sun does come out, but usually during the week when I’m at work. The only saving grace it that it’s a short month!
Sunil, Congratulations on your first Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day post. For someone like me, who is still several weeks away from any spring blooms, yours are a special treat.
Hi Jean; thanks, I finally got round to it after all this time! February is a rather difficult month and I think I’ll only have daffodils to add for March.