January Birth Flowers: Carnation and Snowdrop (gouache style)

January has two birth flowers. The snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, has a single nodding white flower made of three long outer petals around a short inner cup marked with green. It's probably not native to Britain, but it's been grown here for centuries and has naturalised widely in woods and churchyards. The carnation is a Dianthus from the Mediterranean, cultivated for centuries for its frilled petals and spicy, clove-like scent.

Snowdrops flower in January and February, and they establish best when planted in the green, just after flowering while the leaves are still up. Dry bulbs can go in during autumn but are less reliable. Give them moist soil and dappled shade under deciduous trees, and divide crowded clumps after flowering. Border carnations are hardy and want full sun and sharp drainage, planted in spring. In January, though, you'll find carnations at the florist, since the perpetual-flowering kinds are raised under glass.

Pink and red carnations are paired with white snowdrops on a frosty lilac ground. It brings together the cut flower that brightens a January table and the bulb that's flowering outside in the cold. The frosty background places it firmly in midwinter, and the white of the snowdrops keeps the warmer carnation colours from feeling heavy.