February Musings from the Sitting Spiritually Garden by Anna Sissons

February is a month of mixed emotions for the gardener. Frustration that winter is taking its time to gather up its belongings and move along. Then feelings of hope as we see the first pointy green fingers of Spring, showing Winter the way to go. In the Sitting Spiritually garden, there is life in the soil, now punctured with emerging bulbs. It makes my heart flutter to think of the scattergun of colour which will soon paint the garden. JarmanMurphy have chosen some gems for this Spring.

We have spent the last few weeks gathering up the last of the spent grasses, leaving those with remaining seed heads for the birds to feast on. The cardoons are still standing in defiance despite our back-to-back storms. Their vertical accents have become a signature of the garden, carrying the eye from east to west.

Composting is a give and take affair and as we pile on our chippered Calamagrotis, fennel and hedge cuttings, we take away our “liquid gold” compost to mulch the beds, tiptoeing around emerging bulbs and contorting around still standing perennials. The paths have been weeded and redressed with new gravel, let’s hope we hear the scrunch of visitors again soon.

The palette in the garden may be restrained at this time of year but with that comes a sense of calm. The golden grasses gently contrast against the dewy euphorbias and milky greens of the cardoons.The browning ferns lap against budding hellebores. The flowers in bloom stop you in your tracks and often bring you to your knees. There’s always time to get up close and personal with the bicolour flowers of Pulmonaria, and to enjoy a lung full of wild garlic.

Winter interest is so important in the garden. It is the resolute evergreens and stalwart seedheads which will see us through the sog, the grey skies and the working from home. They bring much needed form and movement and keep your eye from resting on bare soil or low cloud. They’ll soon have to make way for the Spring showstoppers so give them some appreciation now before they shift into the backdrop.

The enjoyment from the garden will only increase from now on, becoming more and more stimulating. Now is the time to sit and appreciate the calm before the fanfare begins.

Anna Sissons is the resident gardener at Sitting Spiritually along with her husband, Woody. She also works as a garden designer in the Dorset area. www.annasissons.com

With Many Thanks to Anna Sissons for the Blog

And to Heather Edwards for the photographs of the Sitting Spiritually Garden.

We are looking forward to once again being able to open the Sitting Spiritually Garden when regulations permit

If you would like to contribute a guest blog, please contact Sitting Spiritually at info@sittingspiritually.co.uk