February brings the first, very welcome, signs of new growth to the garden. This is particularly the case in the woodland garden, where the plants need to work fast to make use of as much sunlight as they can get, before the leaves appear on the trees. Snowdrops are the first to flower, together with Daffodils, Cyclamen and Winter Aconite. At this time of year it is possible to see how the Winter Aconite may have got its name. Down in the herbaceous border the first green leaves that start to appear have a very similar shape to the ruff of the Winter Aconite. These belong to Monkshood, also known as Aconite. All similarities rapidly disappear, however, as the Winter Aconite dies back to its bulb under the soil, and the Monkshood goes on to become a tall (highly toxic) plant, with purple flowers in summer.
