February brings hard weather - some bitter days full of cold and rain and sometimes ice and other days of startling clarity and blue skies... we are still browsing the seed catalogues and dreaming of a beautiful spring...

"There seems to be so much more winter than we need this year." Kathleen Norris

In my mind, clematis climbs,
And morning glories do entwine.
Woodland phlox and scarlet pinks,
Replace the frost, if I just blink.
My inner eye sees past the snow.
And in my mind, my garden grows."
Cheryl Magic-Lady, Winter Garden

The word February is believed to have derived from the name 'Februa' taken from the Roman
'Festival of Purification'. The root 'februo' meaning to 'I purify by sacrifice'. As part of the seasonal calendar February is the time of the 'Ice Moon' according to Pagan beliefs, and the period described as the 'Moon of the Dark Red Calf' by Black Elk.  February has also been known as 'Sprout-kale' by the Anglo-Saxons in relation to the time the kale and cabbage was edible.

For more information, contact: rose@DunwoodyGardenClub.com