Fresh growth

With the shortest day of the year now behind us and no snow yet to blanket the nature reserve, walks are still enlivened by glimpses of colour and fresh green growth, fooling me into thinking spring is just around the corner. Naturalists get impatient for a month or two now, forgetting that this period of the year is designated for coppicing, fence repairing and writing up all those records from last year. I was, nevertheless, so pleased today to see the new growth on our two patches of Stinking Hellebore, Helleborus foetidus. The flowers will open quite soon now, often just in time to poke out of deep snow drifts. This is the same species that is also starting to grace gardens at the same time the Snowdrops are out, but in the wild it is still a very scare plant.