A wander round the garden after supper when there was a rare lull in the rain revealed a full snow moon, creeping out from behind the clouds, gifting the clumps of snowdrops at the bottom of the garden a luminescence which was quite breath-taking.

This moon marks Imbolc (or Candlemas), the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, when the light is noticeably different. It’s also known as the Quickening Moon , a reference to the first noticeable stirrings of life in nature -

If you want to disconnect to reconnect, January is the perfect time to banish the noise and embrace silence. Indoors reading a book by an open fire or staring into the flames or outside on a windswept hill or in a forest clearing as the snowdrops poke through the leaf litter.

The benefits of silence are manifold.

January in the garden is more about dreaming, planning and looking at seed catalogues than doing too much outside, although it’s good to get out there and turn the compost, admire the seedheads and spot the green shoots but whatever the time of year there are always some easy-to-grow, cottage garden plants doing their best to cheer us up.

I’ve spent a bit of time this week planning for the next few months. Anyone who has hung around this blog for a while will know what a fan I am of setting intentions, writing lists and generally holding a map of where I’m headed. I’ve written about it here but sometimes you need a North Star not a book of lists. Introducing the vision board.

Although I don’t go in for any of the ‘New Year, New Me’ malarkey in January, I do choose an overarching theme or intention for the calendar year ahead and try to aim my arrows in that general direction. 2025 was all about simplifying and this year I have decided to focus my attention on glimmers. Glimmers are those micro-moments which give you a warm feeling inside.