Sensational snowdrops

■ Honey-scented snowdrops create stunning displays on crisp winter days, and look beautiful teamed with violas and aconites.

■ When planted en masse, snowdrops pack a punch , breaking through frosted leaf litter or snow. Snowdrops are excellent for naturalising in the lawn, but they’ll also grow happily in patio pots, producing flowers that will dance on even the coldest of breezes.

■ You can plant snowdrops as bulbs in autumn, but it’s best to wait until after they’ve finished flowering and buy them ‘in the green’ from mail order nurseries.

■ For the most impressive display and a succession of blooms, buy Galanthus elwesii and the common double snowdrop Galanthus nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’. Plant them in bold drifts along with golden aconites, bright pink cyclamens, primroses and clumps of dwarf narcissi.