The central fact of February, in this garden at least, is excitement. Moments of almost warm light bring forth the smell of damp springy earth. There are even hints of green sappy scents and, as the month progresses, there will be a moment towards the end when I will pass the lavender and catch the faintest whiff of its sweet oils. It stops me in my tracks every year, like an old friend waving from across the field.
Though February can be the coldest of the three winter months it is importantly the lightest. Compared with the shortest day we have almost an hour and half more light as we enter the month and a whopping three hours more light each day as we leave it. This is not small beer if, like me, you find the dark first few weeks of January a real struggle.
