February in a small garden

February has been a quiet month without any named storms, unlike February 2022, when three went across the country. We've had cold sunny days with frosty nights and a few warm days when it felt like spring had arrived. Hardly any rain has fallen; I've never known the garden to be so dry in winter.

There have been countless beautiful sunsets this month. I don't often see them from the garden, but this one was an exception. Pink, orange, yellow, grey and blue. Lovely.

I did some gentle tidying of some of the more robust plants on warmer days. I know winter has not finished yet. This Penstemon has been protected from frost by last year's growth; I won't remove it until April.

I have grown Pulmonaria 'Cotton Cool' for several years. It is a good plant for shade and is very hardy. I grow it mainly for its lovely pale leaves; these look like they have been painted white over a pale green leaf. The pink and blue flowers appear on the same stem. After flowering, I cut back the whole plant to encourage fresh leaves to grow.

I rarely see a Jay (Garrulus glandarius) in the garden. One morning I looked out the bedroom window to see a pair in the garden. This one was rummaging in the bed under the kitchen window, staying long enough for me to grab my camera. I took this photograph through the glass; I thought it would fly off if I opened the window.

The crocuses in the image above are C. tommasinianus. They have been in the garden for several years, gently self-seeding and spreading. The flowers open in the sun to look like stars. I highly recommend them.