Down to Earth: There are signs of spring, if you only look for them

“There are early signs of spring and change if we look (and smell) hard enough. . .” February is a famously depressing month, yet there’s hope if you know where to find it, writes Robert Barker

Strange as it might sound, when I turn the calendar from January to February, the first thing I think about horticulturally is scent. You’d think that a late spring fresh morning or a warm summer’s day would evoke the thought of floral smells but no, it is a cold grey February sky that wakes up my aroma senses.

This is partly due to the fact that every February I am reminded of the time I spent studying with the RHS. The course was part classroom-based, while the rest of the time we had to work in the college gardens.

Let’s just say that in winter, I wasn’t at my most enthusiastic at the prospect of having to leave a warm classroom to head out into the cold to be assessed on completing winter tasks like mulching.

One morning, slightly sullen, with head down, concentrating on what I was doing in my own little world, I suddenly started to smell an incredible sweet scent nearby. As I was in a shady part of one of the gardens, surrounded by evergreen shrubs, I looked for something flowering, anything that could be producing such an amazing smell.

At this stage I was still very new to horticulture, I was very naïve and ignorant, so I was slightly stunned when I followed my nose (following the waft of smell like a character in a cartoon) and was left standing in front of a very ordinary-looking, small green-leafed shrub. This shrub was of course a Sarcoccoca confusa, otherwise known as ‘sweet box’, pictured.

Although a nice textural/architectural backdrop plant to use in shady areas, with its glossy deep green ovate leaves, this rather inconspicuous plant, with its even more inconspicuous white flowers, produces a sweet aroma in winter that can fill a whole garden, and which can’t help but put you in a better mood.

It is well known that February can be such a difficult time for so many. Winter has taken its toll and for some the year ahead can be a daunting prospect - but there are early signs of spring and change if we look (and smell) hard enough.

We need these signs of hope now more than ever and although February can still feel like part of the winter grind it is a slower time when we can pause, reflect and be present enough to witness these hopeful signs.

No, this might not be the most exciting of months, but if you pause long enough, you’ll be able to enjoy the burst of new life that is all around us.

See robertbarkerdesign.com for more.