Snow

Common Snowdrop

We haven't really had much of a winter here yet. There's been a hard frost or two, and the winds have certainly been howling, but we've had no snow, and it hasn't gotten below freezing for long (though rumour has it that our relatively balmy conditions may change in the next day or two). On sunny days, it even feels a bit like spring — though granted, perhaps a rather bitter spring day in early March. The snowdrops are now making a splash, popping up in little clusters all over the lawn. We have two species in the garden: Common Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis, above) and Greater Snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii, below).  The biggest difference between the two is the shape of their leaves; Greater Snowdrop's are much bigger and broader. These harbingers of spring are well-loved and widely planted in Britain. Long thought to be native to the islands (or perhaps introduced in Roman times), snowdrops are now thought to be much newer arrivals, perhaps as recently as the 1500s.

They're perennial, springing up from their small bulbs in January or February here in Britain. They'll grace our garden for several months, with individual plants (two leaves and a flower) lasting a few weeks each. Once the flowers fade, the leaves die back as well, and all signs of the plant vanish until next winter. In addition to the cheeriness they bring to winter gardens, snowdrops have one more gift for humanity. They contain an active substance called galantamine which has proved useful in the treatment (but not cure) of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of memory impairment. 

Greater Snowdrop

Gold

European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Among the regular visitors to our garden are good numbers of this snazzy species: the European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis). They're fond of the seeds of many of the "weeds" dotted around the place (particularly the dandelions), and sometimes gather in big numbers to nibble grit from the driveway. They've built at least one nest that we know of in a shrub near our herb garden, and are occasional visitors to the bird feeders in the winter. According to the RSPB, many of our UK birds head south for the winter, migrating as far as Spain. However, presumably the UK birds are replaced by others from further north during the winter, because we see them year-round.

The black wings with their broad yellow stripe and white spots at the end of the wing and tail feathers are distinctive, as is that noticeably pointed pink bill. Youngsters, which we'll see in late summer, lack that bright red face. European Goldfinches are common and widespread across most of the British Isles (though missing from the highlands of Scotland) and mainland Europe, and have been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, Bolivia, Argentina, a few of the Caribbean islands and parts of the US. The British Trust for Ornithology estimates that there are nearly 1.7 million European Goldfinches across Britain in the summer. Unfortunately, their cheery songs make them popular cage birds. We'd much rather experience them as they are here — free-flying and pouring their lovely songs out into the open air.

Dead Nettle

Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum)

One of the things I love about living in England is the fact that there are flowers blooming all 12 months of the year. Granted, things are pretty thin on the ground at the moment, but with just a little persistence, you can find blooms somewhere. Right now, Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) is flowering in the garden. It's a common and widespread weed that blooms all year round in mild winters, making it a very important plant for early pollinators. It's called "dead-nettle" because it lacks the sting of the true nettles, which have similarly-shaped leaves.

Red Dead-nettle is a member of the mint family. It's an annual, but it regularly overwinters — and produces copious amounts of seed. It's common in arable fields (which we have in abundance locally) and disturbed areas (roadside verges, railway lines, waste ground, etc.), and we have scores of plants sprinkled across the garden. Its flowers are particularly attractive to long-tongued insects like bumblebees and mason bees, and the caterpillars of several moth species (Angle Shades, Garden Tiger, and White Ermine) feed on its leaves. I haven't seen any bees on them in the past few weeks, but later in the spring, the Red-tailed and Buff-tailed bumblebees will be regular visitors. I can't wait!