Snowdrops: A Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus

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The Garden House’s is also delighted to be hosting its not to be missed snowdrop bulb sale by Chelsea Flower Show Gold medallists, Avon Bulbs taking place on Feb 2nd, 11-3pm, normal garden admission applies. One of only a handful of sales by Avon Bulbs, The Garden House bulb sale will be their furthest West this year. The Broadhursts’ snowdrops do not all originate from Anglesey Abbey, as is often assumed. Snowdrops raised at Rainbow Farm are distinguished by the prefix ‘Rainbow’, to clearly differentiate these snowdrops from those originating at Anglesey Abbey. All snowdrops prefer cool, moist conditions in the spring and a dry dormancy during the summer. This can be achieved by planting them in amongst the roots of deciduous trees and shrubs which will take away the moisture in summer and allow a long dry dormancy in the shade. Plant the bulbs as soon as you can (as long as the ground is not frozen) in the spot where you want them to grow. Dig a narrow planting hole probably 4-6" (10-15cm) deep with an asparagus trowel or similar, loosening the soil as you go. Plant your snowdrop at a depth slightly greater than it was previously (where the stem turns green) and nearly up to where the leaves divide. Firm in and water well, remembering to label the spot. If you have more than one of the same variety, space them about 4" (10cm) apart. The world renowned Matt Bishop Snowdrop Collection, one of the most diverse collections of named and naturalised snowdrops in the UK, has been joined by the Colin Mason Collection at The Garden House, one of the finest gardens in England and will be on display in January and February.

Harveys Garden Plants usually use peat-free compost. In 2021, Roger bought some peat- based compost, as their usual peat-free compost was unavailable at the time.Another snowdrop that has just made an appearance is Galanthus elwesii “Godfrey Owen”, which has grey-green leaves and white flowers on stems around 20cm tall. Its flowers feature six pure white, symmetrical outer petals that open to give a wide, lamp-shade-like form over six inner petals, each of which bears a green mark. Godfrey Owen’ spaces itself out as it increases and flowers reliably every year, so this grey-leaved poculiform (shaped like a pixie hat) snowdrop is literally a star performer. Galanthus elwesii ‘Mrs Macnamara’ AGM This is perhaps the most willing snowdrop I grow, when it comes to bulking up, forming sizeable clumps of early flowers. It was spotted in the late 1990s by Matt Bishop, while he was visiting John Morley’s private garden. Crocus say that their snowdrop bulbs may have been grown in peat-free compost but most of their suppliers use peat.

A modern vicarage was built in the 1920s and just after the second world war was bought by Lionel Fortescue, a retiring Eton master, and his wife, Katharine, who set about renovating and developing their garden. They bequeathed the house and garden to the Fortescue Garden Trust, an independent charity that continues to run the property. Now, together with the original Matt Bishop collection, there are nearly 350 named cultivars and species of snowdrop - some rarely seen in open gardens. When the term virescent is used in connection with Galanthus, it is exclusively used for the flowers, after all the foliage is always some shade of green, so that would be overdoing the Latin. The Galanthus that are described as being virescent are the ones that on first sight have an overall greenish appearance, so have a large covering of green on the outer segments concentrated around the centre, but can spread to cover nearly the entire surface. This can be in the form of an opaque green mist that looks like someone has got a fine spray can out, it can also be in the form of green stripes which may merge together at certain points. This is different to snowdrops that just have green tips which are not included. Another feature of virescent snowdrops is that they generally do not just have a simple apical mark on the inner segments, they instead have a large green mark, sometimes bleeding and fading towards the base, sometimes solid green, and often completely covering the surface of the inner segments.

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The inner petals are a solid green and the outers are heavily colour-washed in green, but show white tips. It makes such a good clump, which leads me to question whether it might have hybrid blood despite being found in a colony of Galanthus nivalis near Zutphen in the Netherlands. Top tips for planting snowdrops E A Bowles painted ‘Viridapice’ in 1912, showing the large leafy spathe rising above green-tipped outers. His notes record the name Maximus alongside the name van Tubergen and Viridapice by Barr. Originally discovered in Zutphen in the Netherlands by Gert-Jan van der Kolk in 2000, among a naturalized patch of nivalis, it has bold green stripes over the outer segments which blend together to give an overall greenish hue. The inner segments are completely green.

Now, together with the original Matt Bishop collection, there are nearly 350 named cultivars and species of snowdrop – some rarely seen in open gardens. There are scores of various shapes, colours (the pink snowdrop Galanthus nivalis “Blushing Pendant ” is one lots of visitors look out for) and scents. Mrs Macnamara had a difficult relationship with Thomas: she’s thought to have burnt his notebooks after his death. However, one of her ancestral homes, Ennistymon House, is now the Falls Hotel with a Dylan Thomas bar! Galanthus woronowii ‘Elizabeth Harrison’ Although brilliant publicity, ‘Elizabeth Harrison’ is notoriously difficult to propagate by chipping, ie to cut into slivers, because it’s slimy. Like all yellows, it needs to get the spring sunshine on its flowers. All of East Lambrook Manor Gardens snowdrops are raised in peat-free compost – East Lambrook Manor Gardens’ snowdrops have been raised completely peat-free for years.

We really wanted to celebrate our snowdrop collection which is not only extraordinarily pretty,” said The Garden House General Manager, Donna Wadham. “It’s a unique chance to see some of the most unusual varieties of snowdrop in an exceptionally beautiful setting. We are thrilled Matt Bishop has added to our collection for 2020. It’s loved by experts and garden lovers alike – the Snowdrop Festival seems like a great way for people to access and enjoy snowdrops.” My own introduction to snowdrops was in 1986 as a sixteen year old student at the RHS Gardens, Wisley where there was a substantial collection. I was immediately fascinated by their variation and the at times subtle differences between them in a flowering season that in those days peaked in early to mid-March! Peter Nyssen told me that their snowdrops are grown on commercial farms where there could be trace element of peat naturally in the soil. This company send out dry bulbs in autumn. The snowdrops that Peter Nyssen sell ‘in the green’ are also dug from the soil and sold bare root.

Mac Plants offer snowdrops for sale, including Galanthus elwesii ‘Fred’s Giant’, Galanthus ‘Desdemona’, and Galanthus ‘Little Ben’. You can view the full range of snowdrops available, here. Morlas Plants Avon Bulbs is an award winning nursery that offers a huge range of beautiful snowdrops, including a selection of Collector’s Snowdrops, which were grown by the late Alan Street and are now grown by Alan’s team at Avon Bulbs. Avon Bulbs’ Snowdrops in the Green are lifted and offered for sale in growth – in the green. I spotted: Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’, Galanthus ‘Sally Pasmore’, and Galanthus ‘Byfield Special’, among the snowdrops available in Avon Bulbs’ online catalogue. Colin Mason was the owner of “Fieldgate Snowdrops” from which he made successful hybrids which proved to be successful and attractive – he bulked these up by “twin scaling”. Much sought after examples include Fieldgate Tiffany, Fieldgate Sophie and Fieldgate Superb – we have examples of these in our named collection. Now, together with the original Matt Bishop collection, there are nearly 350 named cultivars and species of snowdrop – some rarely seen in open gardens.Crocus sell Galanthus nivalis in the green. Here’s a link to see the full range of snowdrops offered by Crocus. Dryad Nursery We snowdrop lovers do like to drop in the odd Latin word specific to snowdrops when talking about our blooms. Virescent is one such word, but is actually a common term in horticulture and is simply an adjective meaning greenish. It comes from the early Latin word viridis meaning simply green, and can be used for anything from flowers, to of course, foliage. A similar word is viridescent, and this just means becoming greenish. Matt Bishop Snowdropsis a small independent specialist snowdrop nursery. Matt sells a wide range of beautiful snowdrops, including: Galanthus nivalis ‘Orange Star’, Galanthus nivalis ‘Das Gelbe Vom El’, Galanthus elwesii‘Godfrey Owen’, and Galanthus elwesii ‘Ice Bear’. Here’s a link to all of the snowdrops for sale in Matt Bishop’s online snowdrop store. Michael Myers Michael and Anne Broadhurst produce an updated sales list of about 70 snowdrop varieties each December. The couple specialise in their own selections, which include varieties such as: Galanthus ‘Ivy Cottage Corporal’, Galanthus ‘Homersfield’, Galanthus ‘Pearl Drops’, Galanthus ‘Sweetheart’, Galanthus ‘Bluestreak’, Galanthus ‘Fox Farm’, and Galanthus ‘Rainbow Farm Early’; as well as snowdrop plants that originated at Anglesey Abbey. Recent snowdrop varieties from Anglesey Abbey named by the Broadhursts include: Galanthus ‘Green Eyes’, Galanthus ‘Anglesey Adder’, and Galanthus ‘Anglesey Aurora’.