On winter

A jpurnalist I admire, Ian Dunk, said today in a piece that he hates winter.

Its a season hat offers nothing, except cold and dark.

There are no holidays, no cause for celebration, until the warmth of the sun returns to our faces at the end of March or in April.

The reality is a complicated truth.

There really are no seasons, they merge into each other, one giving hint and preparing for the one that follows.

If I were to take you into the back garden now, I could show you rosttes for the Pyramidal Orchid that will flower in June,rosettes for Cowslips that will flower two or three months early, already preparing for next spring and summer's colour.

In the soil, seeds I harvested and those nature scattered are receiving the 80 days of cold weather needed for them to germinate next spring.

On Wednesday, at Barfrestone, I saw huge amounts of leaves for Winter Heliotrope, an invasive plant that will flower late in December or in January.

Then the Snowdrops, Winter Aconites, Violets and other early spring bulbs will flower and brighten up our hedgerows and woodlands.

All this going on now, if we open our eyes to the signs. Maybe its because I look for botany, I see these signs, signs that nature is not sleeping, but slowly preparing for the longer, warmer days of next year.

I love all seasons, as each brings something to delight. Winter can bring snow, storms, hard frosts, clear blue skies on a frosty morning.

Don't fear or hate winter, it is just the next stage of Nature, and Nature never rests, its just she does her best work in darkness and in the winter cold.