Unfurl: Finding movement and meaning in the late-winter garden

February feels like a turning point in the year. The light lingers a little longer, birds sing a little louder, and if you look closely, buds are quietly swelling on branches that only weeks ago seemed bare.

It’s a month that often goes unnoticed - caught between winter’s rest and spring’s rush - but if you slow down, there’s so much to see, feel and learn. This is the moment when nature begins to unfurl, and it invites us to do the same.

The art of noticing

Try walking the same local route once a week this month - through a park, local woodland or even just around your own garden. Notice how the landscape begins to shift.

Snowdrops are open, wild garlic pushes through the soil, and the buds of trees and shrubs slowly stretch and swell. Each week brings a new small change - so small, in fact, that you might miss it if you don’t pause long enough to look.

Learning to see these subtleties is one of the most valuable skills a gardener can develop. It deepens your connection to place and season, and builds knowledge that no gardening book can teach.

If you’re out with children, make it a little game: “What’s new today?” They’ll notice the tiniest things - a patch of moss, a single snowdrop, a robin singing. It’s the most joyful way to nurture curiosity and mindfulness, both for them and for us.

The beauty of winter-interest plants

While the garden is still in its quieter phase, certain plants step into the spotlight. Their beauty is more understated than the abundance of summer, but in many ways, it’s even more special.

Here are some late-winter favourites that bring life, scent and structure when everything else is sleeping:

🌿 Sarcococca confusa: Evergreen, glossy leaves and wonderfully fragrant flowers. It’s often the first thing you’ll smell before you see it.

🌸 Viburnum × bodnantense ‘Dawn’: Delicate pink clusters that appear through frost and snow. A true winter hero.

✨ Hamamelis mollis (witch hazel): Spider-like golden or orange blooms that glow on bare branches.

💜 Lonicera fragrantissima - incredible scent, a winter flowering honeysuckle

Not only do these plants lift our spirits in the darkest months, they also provide vital nectar for early pollinators like bumblebee queens and hoverflies emerging on warmer days.

Plant them near paths or doorways where their scent can surprise you - and so you can enjoy them even on the chilliest mornings.

Reading the buds

If you look closely, you’ll start to see the difference between leaf buds and flower buds on your trees and shrubs.

Leaf buds are often slimmer, more pointed, and closely wrapped.

Flower buds tend to be rounder and fuller, sometimes showing a hint of colour.

Learning to recognise these differences will help you understand your plants better - when they’ll bloom, how to prune them, and how to plan for year-round interest. It’s a wonderful practice in patience and observation.

Leaving space for life

It’s tempting at this time of year to start tidying borders, cutting back stems and raking up leaves. But a gentle approach works best.

Many beneficial insects - including ladybirds, bees and butterflies - are still sheltering in stems, leaves and old herbaceous growth. By waiting a little longer to clear things away, you’re protecting the life that will pollinate and balance your garden in the months to come.

If you need a task to satisfy the urge to 'do something', try mulching your beds. Adding compost or leaf mould will nourish the soil and get your plants off to a really positive start in spring.

Shifting from planning to presence

February sits between dreaming and doing. We’ve spent winter imagining changes, sketching plans, ordering seeds - but this is the month to begin showing up again, even if that just means standing still in the garden with a cup of tea.

Presence in the garden builds connection. It helps us notice what’s thriving, what needs time, and what we can let go of. This mindset - of awareness rather than constant action - leads to healthier gardens and calmer gardeners.

Inside The Growing Community

This month inside The Growing Community, we’re exploring this same theme - Unfurl - through:

🌿 A deep dive into winter-interest plants and why they matter for pollinators.

📖 February journal prompts to help you reflect on change in your own garden.

💬 WhatsApp discussions about identifying buds and observing early pollinators.

👩‍🌾 An in-person meet-up at Cambo Gardens to explore their amazing winter garden.

Every gardener learns best by noticing - and the community is a place to practise that together.

If February teaches us anything, it’s that growth doesn’t happen all at once. It’s slow, quiet and steady - and always worth waiting for.

I'll leave you with this...

The garden’s slow awakening reminds us that change often starts small - a bud, a bee, a shift in light.

By learning to notice these subtleties, we begin to unfurl too.

Are we connected on Instagram yet?

👉 Find me here

Nicola
The Bonnie Gardener

nicola@thebonniegardener.co.uk