Snowdrops

In January and February over 20 different snowdrop varieties flower in the Gardens.
There is not a winter flowering bulb more iconic than the ‘Snowdrop’. Most people presume that it is a native wonder, appearing at a time of year when most plants are dormant. However, this is not native and was introduced to the U.K from Europe.

Here are just a few of the snowdrops we have growing at the Gardens:
Galanthus ‘Atkinsii’ (guh-LAN-thus) This tall variety of the common snowdrop is one of the first to flower. The snowdrop is a wonderful winter bulb. Galanthus actually translates from the Latin as ‘Milk (Gala) flower (anthus)’.

One of the larger ‘Snowdrop’ varieties in the Gardens is Galanthus ‘S.Arnott’ (guh-LAN-thus) and it is a real show stopper when grown en masse. Introduced to popular cultivation in the 1950’s, this variety was responsible, at the time, for a rise in the enthusiasm for the Snowdrop and a surge of new collectors arose.

Galanthus nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’ (guh-LAN-thus niv-VAL-us) is a variety often found growing wild, with double flowers. This means that the flower has a mass of extra petals, making them look like small white roses.

Did you know?
Rare snowdrops are much sought after, in 2019 the variety ‘Elizabeth Harrison’ was sold for the highest price paid for a single bulb of a snowdrop at £725! It was special in that it had yellow markings instead of green and a yellow cap to the flower. You can see our rarest snowdrop collection that is normally kept locked in our glasshouses in our annual winter bulb exhibition.

Enjoy a winter stroll at the Gardens to see these spectacular snowdrops, en masse and in small clumps scattered through beds of cyclamen and alongside hellebores. Check our Facebook page for flowering updates.