Flower power

I don't wish to appear immodest, but I want to boast about my periwinkle. It is a gladsome thing, god wot, ready to bring joy and comfort in every month of the year. In fact, it's the only flower in my garden that has blooms in every month, although, of course, it is at its most vigorous during the warm season. As indeed I am myself. It is a plant that spreads. so that now I have periwinkles in most parts of the garden, and even on the verges of the footpath on the other side of my hedge.
But, much as I love my periwinkle, I have another love at this time of year. My snowdrops, Britain's answer to edelweiss, are just beginning to emerge. Just as we are about to enter a period of Siberian weather (February is always a treacherous month), the snowdrops are defiant. I have several clusters round the garden, front and back, so I am never short of a glimpse of this doughty flower.
It is not only beautiful in its own right, but it is an harbinger of better times to come. When snowdrops appear, can Spring be far behind? Well, in the case of East Anglia, probably another four bloody months at least. A long time to wait, but I will console myself with my periwinkle.