Soon after Christmas, I – and if social media is a guide, many other like-minded individuals – can be found out in the garden looking for signs of life from our winter aconites: a crop of postings on first sightings is the result. The appearance of these sunny flowers is a powerful signal that the year has turned and earns them a special place in gardeners’ affections.
Unlike snowdrops and other bulbs with shoots that spear out of the ground, winter aconites shoulder their way up, with the flowering stem forming an arch, the top of which breaks the surface first. As it emerges, it
