A snowdrop carpet at Bank Hall, Bretheton in February 2009

Snowdrops (species of Galanthus) are popular late winter or early spring flowers which are celebrated as a sign of spring and can attract large numbers of visitors to places where they are growing. The reason for their popularity is that snowdrops can form impressive carpets of white in areas where they are native or have been naturalised. Most 'Snowdrop Gardens' will have the common snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, but some have more unusual snowdrops, some which may be unique to the garden that they are growing in. The rarest may only survive in that garden due to the conditions and environment.

Galanthophile

A galanthophile is a snowdrop enthusiast. They may be authors of snowdrop books, cultivate snowdrops, collect snowdrops and have displays of them for personal and public display. Well known galanthophiles are the horticulturalist E. A. Bowles and the nurseryman James Allen. Modern day galanthophiles range from teenagers to the elderly, who continue under the same principles but also visit many of the gardens each year to see the displays of snowdrops as part of their hobby.[1] The UK-based Cottage Garden Society has a snowdrop group that visits snowdrop gardens every year.[2]

Notable events

There are a number of snowdrop gardens in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.[3] Sixty gardens took part in Scotland's first Snowdrop Festival (1 Feb–11 March 2007).[4] Several gardens in England open during snowdrop season for the National Gardens Scheme (NGS).

England and Wales

Scotland

Ireland

  • Mark Smyth's Garden, Antrim
  • Primrose Hill, Lucan, County Dublin,
  • Altamont Garden, Tullow, County Carlow[10]

Further reading

  • Aaron P. Davis, The Genus Galanthus, A Botanical Magazine Monograph. Timber Press, Portland, OR (in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) ISBN 0-88192-431-8
  • Matt Bishop, Aaron Davis, John Grimshaw, Snowdrops - A Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus, Griffin Press, January 2002 (ISBN 0-9541916-0-9)
  • Stern F C, Snowdrops and Snowflakes – A study of the Genera Galanthus and Leucojum, The Royal Horticultural Society, 1956

References

  1. ↑ Winterman, D (2012) "Snowdrop fanciers and their mania", https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16789834
  2. ↑ The Cottage Garden Society (2012) "Regional Groups - Snowdrop", http://thecottagegardensociety.org.uk/Regional%20Groups/local_groups/view_group/38
  3. ↑ "Great British Gardens: Snowdrops and Snowdrop Gardens 2007". Archived from the original on 1 April 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
  4. ↑ "VisitScotland.com: Snowdrop Festival". Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
  5. ↑ Chippenham Park Gardens (2010) "Snowdrops", http://www.chippenhamparkgardens.info/snowdrops.htm
  6. ↑ Colesbourne Park ( 2011), "Snowdrops", http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/the-garden/snowdrops.html
  7. ↑ Easton Walled Gardens (2012) "Snowdrops", http://www.eastonwalledgardens.co.uk/Detail.asp?S=5&V=1&Event=1
  8. ↑ Scotlands Garden Scheme "Lawton House", http://www.scotlandsgardens.org/gardens/garden/4fddbcb9-a25d-4e65-aa59-9f7200dc49fa
  9. ↑ Scotlands Garden Scheme (2012) "Danevale Park", http://www.scotlandsgardens.org/garden.aspx?id=1a950782-4aac-4e2c-a3f4-9fda00a1c26f
  10. ↑ "Altamont Garden, Information". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-02-19. "Altamont Gardens, Carlow Gardens, Carlow Garden Centres, Carlow Garden Trails, Carlow Tourism". Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.