“Wait! the world shall waken;
It is not dead, for lo,
The Fair Maids of February
Stand in the snow!”
I finally picked a few snowdrops today, after waiting in vain for them to open outdoors, and put them in the little blue pottery vase I bought at the Christmas market especially for them.
The words above are from The Song of the Snowdrop Fairy, and along with my little flowers they offer me hope that spring will indeed come soon. What a grey winter it has been here. But we are practically half way through February already… 🙂
And just 20 minutes later they were opening. 🙂
With little to share the past few weeks I shall take extra pleasure today in viewing all the other vases posted for this lovely meme, which is hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. As always I will start with Cathy’s very own creation, and I do suggest you take a look too!
I hope you have a sunny week!
Words and Herbs 
I love the fairies…and your images are precious! That vase is perfect for the Fair Maids….what an uplifting last image with the opening snowdrops….I can’t wait to see mine but it seems not in February this year.
Thanks Donna – I do hope your snow melts enough for the snowdrops to peep through soon!
Oh, the waiting. It gets harder as I get older. I make myself stay busy in winter.
Oh yes, me too. I have been doing lots of clearing out and lots of crocheting and reading, but am getting impatient! 😉
Beautiful words, flowers and vase 🙂
Thanks Sam!
Thank goodness for these little harbingers of spring! I love those fairy books and this page is perfect with your vase of snowdrop hope!
I have been using the winter days to do some clearing out and came across this single page I had obviously saved from a card or something, although I do have a book with all the fairies in it. 🙂
Perfect for a February day. Do they smell of honey?
If I get up close and sniff, yes! 🙂
oh! The snowdrops are lovely!
🙂 Worth all the waiting!
They are so pretty
I agree. Thanks for visiting!
Very pretty Cathy. Lovely words too.
I love the flower fairy poems – so simple and always so apt! 🙂
I agree Cathy!
Even though there other early flowers it is snowdrops that makes me think that life in the garden is beginning again. It has been an awful winter hasn’t it. It seemed to start so early here and there have been a lot of days when it has been bitterly cold.
It has been the damp and grey weather that has got to me this winter Christina. But the end of it is not far off now and the snowdrops really do signal that. 🙂
Cathy I’m glad that your precious Bells began to open within 20 minutes of being inside the house. The vase is very beautiful. I love the lithography of the Fairy with the Bell and its song. It is a wonderful set. Here in Madrid it’s going to snow tonight and tomorrow all day. And two weeks ago it was snowing three days or so. Never seen in Madrid! But as you say, we’re almost in mid-February … Take care. Greetings from Margarita.
Goodness, you have had a very cold winter this year Margarita. Take care!
These must give you so much pleasure, Cathy, after these last few weeks without. What a lovely large posy you have treated yourself to and the purpose-bought vase is spot-on for them!
Seeing them grow and the white buds fill out has been wonderful over the past few days! We have had some lovely sunshine in between snowshowers today, but the snowdrops still couldn’t be enticed to open outdoors in the cold!
What a perfect combination – minimalist purity.
It is easy to be minimalist at this time of year! 😉
A vision of hope! They are lovely. 🙂
And they are so welcome Eliza! 🙂
I didn’t know there is a snowdrop fairy. She needs to pay a visit to southern California! I love the sweet little vase with its precious blooms.
There is a whole book of flower fairies Kris… created by Cicely Mary Barker. Here’s a link to the complete book I have got, but my Mum had the original small editions. 🙂 https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Flower-Fairies/dp/0723248397/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=837A18WDWNB765M9N7HP
And as they open, they display little green hearts…perfect for Saint Valentine’s Day.
Oh yes, what great timing! 🙂
Beautiful maids in an oh so lovely vase.
Thanks Laurie!
They always look so fresh and pure. That little vase is perfect, I can see why you bought it.
It really is the perfect size. So glad I found it! 🙂
Such a profusion of snowdrops! And I love the blue vase too, it’s perfect.
They are spreading well – surprisingly under a yew tree which unfortunately stops them getting much sun. The vase was a lucky find. 🙂
Your blue and white is gorgeous. Only twenty minutes of warmth to open, amazing.
The shelf they were standing on is above a big radiator, which helped! 😉
My Snowdrops are still sleeping under the snow, so thanks for sharing yours. The lighting in your photos is so magical!
Thank you Beth. So many other bloggers seem to be a lot further on than me, but then I think of others like you who are still in the depths of winter and count my blessings! Hope your snow melts soon!
These are gorgeous!
I have to agree Valorie! 😉
Yes, we have had some lovely sun but it is still too cold for my snowdrops to open. After seeing your delightful vase full of opened snowdrops I might have to go out and snitch some from my little clump just to see those pretty little buds open. Happy IAVOM.
I hope you did pick some Lisa – watching them open is quite uplifting! It was sunny again today, but only just above freezing so the crocuses that are just showing refused to open too. We just need to be patient!
Simply lovely and the vase was a perfect buy. Sunny days ahead!
Yes, we had sunshine today again! 🙂
Cathy, so lovely to see your precious snowdrops respond to your care. Such a pretty sight. The vase is exquisite and just the right size for the flowers. Have a happy week.
I am very pleased with the vase… it was in a bargain basket of tiny vases at the Christmas market and it was tempting to buy several, but I was out to buy presents for other people and not for myself! 😉
Love the poem and the snowdrops.
Thanks Brian. There is nothing quite like the first flowers of the year! 🙂
Dainty little snowdrops seem absolutely perfect as a sign of hope that spring is just waiting to be born! I love the poem, Cathy. I do think this month has simply flown by and the idea that spring is just around the corner doesn’t seem too hard to believe. 🙂
With another day of sunshine I can almost believe spring is near, despite the cold and frosty mornings. 🙂
The way you have arranged your vase and positioned it to catch the sun is perfect. Beautifully photographed as well.
Thank you Noelle – I just got the last minutes of the sun in my photos, before it dropped behind the hills. It is good to notice how long it is light in the evenings now. 🙂
Such fair maidens indeed Cathy and just the perfect vase to enhance their beauty. I hope that you have been able to enjoy their scent. Sorry to hear that you have had such a grey winter. Still not long in theory until spring. We have had unexpected snow this morning – it forgot that it should be staying well north of here.
We have had a sprinkling of fresh snow too, followed by some very frosty weather and blue skies! So nice to get some winter sunshine at last. Hope you get some too Anna!
As well as February Fair Maids, they have also been referred to popularly as Flowers of Hope, Snow Piercers, Candelmas Bells and Dingle-dangle!
I learnt the name Candlemas Bells just last week, but have never heard of Dingle-Dangle! 🙂
Your Fair Maids are truly lovely!
Thanks Jason!
🙂 Love it! So glad to see things brightening up over there. I hope it’s not just an indoor thing for much longer.
Me too Frank. We have had more snow though, which has stopped everything in its tracks for the time being! 😉
I too am going to admire the vase! I rediscovered the flower fairies recently when browsing in a book shop. The illustrations are so accurate with my adult eye, and the fairies came back to me so clearly!
Hi Ali. Yes, those fairies are quite magical and always make me smile! 🙂