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February - such weather. One day it is 65 degrees and then the next 20, and plunging down to 11 degrees at night. Covering up the poor, confused camellias and hydrangeas with old sheets and seeing some of the daffodils actually blooming. We gardeners are certainly aware of the weather! But still, there are tiny, bright green bits pushing up. Spring is almost here.

"The most serious charge which can be brought against New England is not Puritanism but February." Joseph Wood Krutch

This is what my camellias looked like this month!

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

Lilies!!!!!! Are they too soon??

"He knows no winter, he who loves the soil,
For, stormy days, when he is free from toil,
He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds
From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.
When looking out upon frost-silvered fields,
He visualizes autumn's golden yields;
He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain
Precious moisture for his early grain;
He hears spring-heralds in the storm's ' turmoil
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil."
Sudie Stuart Hager, He Knows No Winter  

Lovely and fragrant Daphne

Tiny columbine surfacing

"February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March." Dr. J. R. Stockton
"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." Mystical WWW

For more information, contact: rose@DunwoodyGardenClub.com