Weeding Weather

I was lucky enough today to have a few hours to spend in the garden for some weeding and clean up. The weather was fantastic for it... nice to see things budding out and getting ready for true spring. I snapped a few shots and had to include that harbinger of spring - Galanthus nivalis or snowdrop. There are quite a few clumps of them around because we divided them up in the fall - a wonderful payoff! They are just budding right now...

Galanthus - detail bud (scale = 3 cm)

They are one of my favourites... and I love that they have so many different names. The common name 'snow drop' first appeared in the 1633 edition of John Gerard's Great Herbal (first edition 1597) and he described it as "Timely flowering Bulbus violet"! It may have also come form the Gerrman word Schneetropfen which was a type of earring popular at that time. Other common names include 'February fairmaids', 'dingle-dangle', 'Candlemas bells', 'Mary's tapers' and 'snow piercers'.

I had some lovely company in the garden - a sweet young cat who was having fun chasing my cuttings.