Whilst we are still in the midst of Winter, the first signs that Spring is just round the corner comes from the Snowdrops which are beginning to put on a show. I have a number of named varieties which flower ahead of the normal Galanthus nivalis. Above is Galanthus ‘Ding Dong’, so called as it is meant to flower in time for Christmas but this year it has been very late and I suspect that this is because it is in too dry a location and suffered last summer in the heatwave.
Next to it is Galanthus ‘Selborne Green Tips’ which is looking at little nibbled, probably because it grows under the bird feeders and the local pigeons seem to try to eat anything, a bit like avian goats. I am toying with lifting these clumps now once the flowers have finished, splitting them and planting them in an additional location to protect against losing them.
Galanthus ‘Mrs McNamara’ is the star of the snowdrops at the moment. She started flowering at Christmas and being a larger flower really stands out. I’m not that clued in to identifying snowdrops but if you look at the photo below you can see how much bigger Mrs McNamara is compared to another unknown snowdrop
This is a close up of the unknown snowdrop which I am sure is a named variety due to its location in the garden but all the labels have gone, even those I put in last year. I am going to have to relabel and I think I might need to make some notes or draw a plan as not knowing the snowdrops names is an annual event now. I think I will also look back through my posts and make a list of the snowdrops I know I have and see if I can identify the unknown ones from that.
Every year I add one or two new Galanthus (with labels honest). This year’s new acquisition, so far, is Galanthus ‘Godfrey Owen’. As you can see it is a large snowdrop and quite distinctive from the six outer petals all being the same size. Galanthus ‘Diggory’ is also on my wish list as it has quite distinctive texture to its petals.
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