Joy in the February Garden

I know February might not seem like the most joyful time in the garden but there is so much to look forward to and to enjoy even at this time of year.

Every month has its joy and every month has good in it. February that good might not be as immediately obvious as it is in June but you can still find joy.

My word of the month:

Gentle Joy

In the Garden:

Bare-root roses

The main thing I want you to think about in the garden this month is:

Bare-Root Roses

It is still a great time to order them and you can save a lot of money by buying your roses bare-root instead of pot grown!

I have ordered 3:

1. WOLLERTON OLD HALL: to go on my arch. I already have one on the other side of the arch. I want them to grow up the two sides and provide a tunnel of roses. Has a lovely scent.

2. SCARBOROUGH FAIR: a sweet little rose, with gentle pink edges to its white petals. It is a long flowering, very healthy rose with open petals (I like my roses not to be too congested in the centre)

3. DESDEMONA: To say I am obsessed with this rose would be an understatement! I absolutely adore this rose! It smells gorgeous, flowers for ages, has gorgeous blossoms.

If you want to see how I use these roses have a look at my YouTube Channel ⬅️, I will cover that in my February Garden Video.

If you want to know more about the roses I would recommend etc, you can join my Free February Garden Coaching by clicking here ⬅️

February’s Plants

February isn’t showy. It isn’t a big month in the garden but that doesn’t mean there isn’t beauty there!

The Plants:

• SNOWDROPS - the sign of optimism and joy.

• TREES - sculpture in the garden. I adore the trees in my garden. Even if there isn’t much happening now they still provide structure and framework to the garden

Gentle Joy

I think about this a lot. Gentle joy. It’s something that has become more and more important to me.

Let me explain:

I used to feel a lot of pressure to “have fun”. Big fun. Drink, stay out late, be a party girl, go bungee jumping... You know, “be fun”, “big fun”.

But I learned that I am not a “big fun” time person. I don’t like late nights, I don’t like drinking a lot of alcohol and I certainly don’t like bungee jumping.

Gentle Joy as a Mum

I realised that I like slow, gentle, calm, little joy. I adore small, slow moments of joy. They are my momentum. They are my fuel.

Like a lot of mums, I felt this weird mixture of unbelievable love and devotion to my babies and a loss of identify and a redefining of myself. Having children gave me the kick up the bum I needed to grow up. To move from who I thought I ‘should’ be (I thought I should be the Big Fun girl) to who I actually am (the gentle joy woman).

But along with becoming a mum, fun became harder to come by. Old, ‘big fun’ was out but what I really struggled with was what should replace it.

Gardening

Gardening became my answer. I am somewhat obsessed with gardening and the scope for gentle joy it provides. The little robin coming to say ‘hello’ or the bumble bee falling asleep in a foxglove in my garden - I adore it!

Gardening has made me the parent I want to be

It has helped me embrace the beauty and important of gentle joy. It has taught me that the slow, quiet moments, the seemingly insignificant moments are the big moments.

Could-Do List

I want to encourage you to get out there into your garden at all times of the year.

To embrace the beauty of every season.

For me February is all about anticipation. Spring is drawing ever closer. Green growth is pushing through.

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Thank you for stopping by. If you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you! Get in touch: Elisabeth@joyfulgarden.co.uk