The Blackberry Garden Snowdrops

I am currently enjoying visiting some amazing snowdrop gardens.  This has become a favorite pastime this time of year as it helps keep the winter blues at bay.  The garden is generally too sodden to achieve much in my own garden so to get outside and enjoy some beautiful gardens is a fine way to spend time.   These visits make me think about my own garden (as all the best garden visits should).  My snowdrops are, like the rest of my garden, work in progress.  I have however made some progress and so I thought I would share this with you.
This somewhat scruffy photo is of one of the oldest clumps of snowdrops that I planted.  These were planted the first autumn I moved into this house which is nearly ten years ago.  I put a few snowdrops under this tree in the driveway.  Since then I have spread them a little as they have slowly bulked up.  The other day a garden friend came to visit as we were off garden-bothering together for the day.  She exclaimed 'look at the snowdrops' and pointed to this clump.  There are few greater moments of  happiness than someone noticing something you are rather pleased about in the garden.
Further down the drive I have planted some more.  You can see the rubbish that gets left the other side of the fence as well.  I have hopes that one day, when I am long gone from from this place, there will be hoards of snowdrops limboing under the fence.  One day someone will look at them and wonder who planted them and I shall snuggle down a little cosier in my final resting place.
In the backgarden I have planted snowdrops here and there.  These keep Natasha and Elsie company.
These are in the Spring border.  Only snowdrops bought from Easton Walled Gardens go in this border.  Each year a few more go in.  Over the last couple of years I have planted more into the borders as previously I had focussed on planting them into the Wild Garden.
What was one or two snowdrops is now starting to make some impact.
This year I started this clump of snowdrops off from ones bought at Hodsock Priory.  I like to have spaces where I can identify where the snowdrops came from.  This brings a smile of memory every time I look at them.
I started out by buying those dry bulbs in the autumn.  I would plant a couple of hundred a year and some would actually appear.
A couple of years ago I changed tactics and started buying a couple of hundred in the green.  This has worked so much better.  Most actually seem to appear now far more reliably.  Also the clumps are getting big enough to be divided which has helped enormously.
They run along the side of the garden and across the top boundary.


I don't think that Hodsock or Easton or others need to quake in their boots just yet from the competition; but I am really pleased at how many I have now.  Most are most common nivalis, but there are some flore pleno in there as well.
I rarely buy named snowdrops, but this Atkinsii was bought the other day and popped into the garden.  It is so tall and regal I think it is a great addition.
So there you have it, my little contribution to growing snowdrops.
Proper snowdrop gardens visited this year:
Hodsock Priory
Easton Walled Gardens
Little Ponton Hall
Thenford