February

February is our best month for winter flowers.  Just after we turned the page on the calendar, we noticed a major change in the number and variety of flowers in bloom.  Tiny crocuses brighten the rock garden.  Most of them are Crocus tommasinianus  with creamy white exteriors and mostly violet interiors.  They are joined by forms of Cc. biflorus, chrysanthus and hybrids from these species.  The mid-season snowdrops are at their annual peak, with large clumps and groups of many forms of Galanthus nivalis, some of which are double and the others are single forms with unusual markings.  As with the early snowdrops, we dig the large, compact clumps and divide and plant them immediately in other areas. Cyclamen coum covers several areas with its magenta, pink, or white flowers with twisted or flung back petals and leaves that are dark green, silver, or a combination of both. The fragrances of mahonias and chimonanthus accompany us on our daily walks and, if we really get down on our knees, we can smell some of the small flowers.  Each day brings forth more hellebore flowers.  As we walk through and discuss which forms and species we want to propagate, we keep on saying, “I think that is my favorite.”  Daffodils seem to be saying, “Hey, look at me.”  The early bloomers are still fresh and have been joined by many forms which are bent to the earth in the frozen air of the night, but which are upright as soon as they thaw. 

We aren’t just walking around smelling the flowers, we are beginning one of the most important and often neglected jobs of the year.  We are pruning the roses, beginning with the most challenging one—the Cherokee rose.  Just cutting out the old canes and draping them over the arbor doesn’t do it.  We are rebuilding one of the cedar structures, which is one of our most beautiful ones, designed and built about 25 years ago by Wayne Hall. We wander through the woods and select those cedar limbs that have the arching shape we want and then replace the old, decayed ones piece by piece.