Deep Sleeps the Winter

A lone tree, heavily laden with snow, stands prominently in a snow-covered field.

by Cicely Mary Barker Deep sleeps the winter, Cold, wet, and grey; Surely all the world is dead; Spring is far away. Wait! the world shall waken; It is not dead, for lo, The Fair Maids of February Stand in the snow! Today’s Garden words were featured on the podcast: Words inspired by the garden…

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February’s Quiet Grace: Poetic Voices on the Year’s Shortest Month

A February winter garden.

Today’s Garden Words were featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. Words inspired by the garden are the sweetest, most beautiful words of all. A February winter garden. February 12, 2020 February carries a subtle magic, a brief but potent interlude between the depths of…

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June 28, 2019 Giant Flowers for Paul Bunyan Day, Harry V. Harlan, Importing Seeds, Henry Nehrling, Cicely Mary Barker, Plant Families by Ross Bayton, Pruning Spring-Flowering Shrubs, and the Effects of Culture

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee  Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community Monologue Today is National Paul Bunyan Day. In Minnesota, most folks fondly remember the tales of Paul and Babe – his big blue ox. Speaking of big,…

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I Have Never Seen a Fairy

Cicely Mary Barker

by Cicily Mary Barker I have drawn all the plants and flowers carefully, from real ones, but I have never seen a fairy…       Note: Barker loved wildflowers, but she didn’t believe in fairies. Barker wrote the quote above in the foreword to Flower Fairies of the Wayside. Today’s Garden words were featured on…

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White Clover Fairy

White Clover (Trifolium repens), a common perennial plant often found in lawns, pastures, and natural areas.

by Cicily Mary Barker I’m little White Clover, kind and clean; Look at my threefold leaves so green; Hark to the buzzing of hungry bees: “Give us your honey, Clover, please!” Yes, little bees, and welcome, too! My honey is good, and meant for you!     Note: Barker loved wildflowers, but she didn’t believe…

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Forget-Me-Not Fairy

Forget-Me-Not flowers, specifically members of the Myosotis genus, which are known for their small, delicate blue flowers with yellow centers.

by Cicily Mary Barker So small, so blue, in grassy places My flowers raise Their tiny faces. By streams, my bigger sisters grow, And smile in gardens, In a row. I’ve never seen a garden plot; But though I’m small Forget me not!         Note: Barker loved wildflowers, but she didn’t believe in…

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