Carnival!

February exciting? Surely not? In this country the period between New Year and Easter is only enlivened by Shrove Tuesday (when we make pancakes) but in parts of the world with strong Caribbean, Brazilian or Portuguese influences they have that thing called Carnival – wow!

Exciting it certainly is. With a history dating back to Ancient Greece, it was incorporated into the calendar of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages as a pre-Lenten feast. It has been big in Venice for hundreds of years, an opportunity for excess made possible by masks and hidden identities. It was, however, the abolition of slavery that really triggered the amazing spectacle we can experience today. Drilling down for one message in the whole story it is that for a short time normal rules don’t apply, anything goes. It’s like a safety valve, people can let off steam then return to their normal lives.

It’s not too much of stretch to suggest that Hamamelis, or by its more exciting and evocative popular name ‘Witch hazel’, is a plant that fits in perfectly with the Carnival mood. In February, when we are most in need of some glamour in the garden, it can be seen in its finery. The fragrant flowers in clusters of narrow petals are reminiscent of the beads and sequins of carnival costumes, exciting to look at after the bare branches of deep winter. The flowers and fragrance of Hamamelis emerge from the jaws of winter and are welcome proof that spring is on its way.