Given yesterday’s focus on the Moodscope Winter Blues Toolkit, and the suggestion that light may play a part, is it possible to flourish in Winter – even if the data suggests it is more challenging?

Thus, saith the web: UK winter gardens can be vibrant with flowers like Hellebores (Christmas Rose), Snowdrops, Winter Jasmine, Cyclamen, Pansies & Violas, Primroses and  Polyanthus, and Winter Heather, offering colour and scent, even for pollinators, through hardy plants…

Let’s take one example and see if we can learn about resilience and hope…

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are indeed marvels of evolutionary engineering, perfectly adapted to bloom in the harsh conditions of late winter and early spring. Here’s how they’re so brilliantly designed:

1. Structural & Growth Adaptations

• Thermogenic Growth (Thermogenesis): Snowdrop flowers can actually generate their own heat—up to 10°C above ambient temperature. This melts surrounding snow and ice, creating a small pocket of liquid water and allowing growth even when the ground is frozen.
• Protected Buds & Leaves: Their leaves have toughened tips (like a "nail") that can push through frozen soil. The flower buds are encased in a protective sheath that prevents ice crystal damage.
• Drooping Flowers: The bell-shaped, nodding flower protects the reproductive parts (pistil and stamens) from rain, sleet, and snow. It also helps retain some warmth.

To flourish, we too can generate our own heat (remember Ready Brek, anyone?)  Every happy memory generates warmth above the surrounding temperature – yes, everywhere we go, we can take the weather with us!

Boundaries, as mentioned yesterday, act as a protective shield that can prevent the ‘ice’ we get from others.

Snowdrops ‘bow’ their heads, as if in prayer – so take time for yourself to rest and reflect, recharge and regenerate.

2. Reproductive Strategy

• Early Blooming = Low Competition: By flowering when few other plants are active, snowdrops face almost no competition for pollinators (early bees, winter-active flies).
• Reliable Pollinators: Their flowers provide crucial early-season nectar and pollen for insects emerging on mild winter days.
• Seed Dispersal via Ants (Myrmecochory): After flowering, seeds develop with a nutritious appendage (elaiosome) that attracts ants, which disperse them—a strategy independent of wind or birds in leafless forests.

To flourish, we too can ‘bloom’ in areas with lower competition. How can you give yourself time and space to flourish without excessive demands upon your attention or energy?

Partnerships are abundant in Nature – no organism does much in isolation. What partnerships could you invest in and strengthen in this quieter season?  This is the season for Hygge (pronounced “hoo-guh”) – a time to enjoy simple pleasures in the company of others: ambient lighting and soft embracing music, physical warmth to contrast with the cold, and the kind of meaningful conversation that takes a little more time to bloom itself.

What a perfect symbol of resilience and hope! ❄️🌱
Now, tell me about your Hygge!

Or, even better, “Give us a Hygge!” that’ll chase the blues away!

Lex

A Moodscope member