In the Garden: February

narcissus pseudonarcissus garden in Cape Girardeau, Missouri

“She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour: “Winter is dead.”

— A. A. Milne, "Daffodowndilly"

February was a delicious dose of Vitamin C, with the first flush of narcissus kissing the hillsides and every sliver of woodland. I take such joy from the simplest drives around town, spying this gorgeous yellow, which although arrived early this year, was welcome all the same.

I am very fortunate that our beloved property also has the pseudonarcissus, the earliest of the daffodils to awaken before spring officially arrives. Oh, the magic of one sunny day, when the buds, bowing like the necks of geese, decided to pop! I find so much happiness in that defiance, bold and uncaring, cold weather be damned.

To carry on without mentioning my love of hellebore…I won’t waste anymore time. These charming yet poisonous flowers begin to grow in December and January—the tiniest sign of life from them had me slowing my pace around the shade garden, lingering, and dreaming of when they might bloom! I’m continually adding to my hellebore collection. Despite being slow growers, I hope to one day have grand expanses of hellebore tucked all around our property…sprinkled with another early spring beauty—the snowdrop. Unfortunately, I habitually forget to order snowdrops every year! Hopefully this year will break the cycle.

Other areas of note around the garden include the tulip patch jumping ahead of schedule and forming buds much too soon. Various fall planted beauties are showing green growth despite fallen leaves and other garden debris. The tiniest squill decided to debut for the year—their location is not the best as they tend to get lost. Maybe I'll research how to rehome them as I continue to try to tame the narcissus garden before summer turns it back into a tangle of weeds. Our quince shrubs enjoyed the mild month…as did other narcissus varieties around our property that I don’t know the names of. Aren’t they just the most cheerful things?

I mentioned that hellebore are poisonous, but they are in “good” company in the garden during early spring. Narcissus, squill, and flowering quince are indeed also toxic. The perfect flowers for the wilder parts of your garden, if you have deer, rabbits, squirrels and other animal-life like we do. Please note I do not recommend these flowers in spaces that curious pets frequent. Keep this in mind if you have young children as well.