Yesterday saw many gardeners and galanthophiles alike with mouths agape at the news that the Snowdrop 'Elizabeth Harrison' had sold on ebay for the princely sum of £725 for a single bulb. At the time the bidder was completely unknown and of course this brought with it the usual whispers, outrage, and general shock that someone could justify the expense. But today is another day and the story has developed somewhat.In a statement it was confirmed that "On Thursday 16 February at 14:40 after a bidding frenzy of over 30 biddersThompson & Morgan, the Ipswich based mail order plant and seed company, acquired the world’s most expensive snowdropGalanthus woronowii‘Elizabeth Harrison’ for £725." On reflection, this makes much more economic sense and is more acceptable when compared with the notion that the bulb was winging its way to some private collection never to be seen again. After all, as with many other rare and unusual plants with potential to sell in large numbers, this pretty little gem of a plant will now go in to propagation until it becomes available for general sale. Plus, this so called bidding frenzy has created quite a nice bit of spin to get the orders rolling in!
