February 1: Hostas in the Winter

Each month this year, I’m having a look at the hosta beds in my garden and writing about them.  As it turns out, the outward difference between hosta beds in January and February is negligible.  It’s been a month of Winter’s cold and darkness.  Most often, I view the hosta beds from the comfort of the cozy indoors, where garden catalogs promise that the next season will be lovely, even while the garden this month is still.

And yet, I know the days are slowly creeping toward more light, a transition I mark in my journal each day.  Today, the sun rose at 7:09 am and set at 5:16 pm, with light lingering afterward.  That’s more light than January 1st, when the sun rose at 7:22 am and set at 4:42 pm.  By the end of February, the sun will rise at 6:34 am and set at 5:48 pm, taking us from just over 11 hours of daylight in the day to just over 12 hours.  It’s a glorious promise.

Gardening has taught me to plan for the future but also to appreciate the here and now.  It takes Winter’s cold to prepare my hostas for Spring and Summer growth.  In much the same way, cold Winter days makes Spring’s warmth that much more pleasing to experience.  For now, I do my best to wait patiently, enjoying each day, secure in the promise that there is sunlight and growth still to come.