Follow Mother Nature’s lead with snowdrops
Follow the lead of Mother Nature and snowdrops will flourish and grow well
Adear friend of mine wanted swathes of snowdrops by her window in the lush green lawn open to full sun. I suggested she also plant them under the old apple tree. In time, her lawn-planted snowdrops had dwindled to nothing, but the apple tree plantings flourished and continue to do so.
Planting under deciduous trees and shrubs, where the snowdrops revel in the winter light and cool canopy shade in the summer, is perfect. As the days get longer, we still have to wait before the naked trees are again clothed in green, but it’s these simply gorgeous bulbs that spear the earth along with others such as aconites, cyclamen and narcissus, that weave their sumptuous spring palette for our delight.
It’s best to buy snowdrops in-the-green as you can see exactly the flower you are buying. Dried bulbs in packets are best avoided as their history is unsure.
Create those swathes
Division is a superb way to fill the garden and create those swathes of white. Divide plants as the flower fades and potential seed pods appear. Using a garden fork (not a spade which can inadvertently chop and damage bulbs) work around the clump, trying not to damage others in the vicinity.
Once the clump is out of the ground, gently, with a hands-on approach, tease and separate into smaller groups of three, four or five bulbs. This looks more natural than if planted as singletons. By using the length of a trowel, space the new groups and avoid any form of symmetry and try to make it look as if nature intended. Water if there’s no sign of rain.
One of my favourite beginner varieties to grow is the tall, scented ‘S. Arnott’, favoured by most snowdrop enthusiasts. Others include ‘Atkinsii’ and ‘Viridapice’, with its soft green markings on the outer flower segment. Enjoyable mid-range and also easy to grow varieties include: ‘Sprite’, ‘Blewbury Tart’, ‘Diggory’, with its unmistakable balloon-shaped flowers, and ‘The Wizard’. Once the snowdrop bug has taken hold, you might want to look out for specialist cultivars such as ‘Midas’.
It’s a colour changer as both outer and inner segment markings first appear green and then gradually change to a bright, glowing yellow.
One of my favourites is named after a very wonderful friend of mine, ‘Veronica Cross’. Veronica was a great plantswoman, generous with her garden and its treasures within, including this perfect snowdrop.
However, the favourite I have to mention is ‘Blewbury Tart’ found in the churchyard of Blewbury, Oxfordshire, in the 1970s by me as a teenager. It’s a strange upward-facing, doubleflowering snowdrop that looks like green tartlets – once described as the ugly duckling of the snowdrop world, but never becoming a swan.
I always look forward to the start of the snowdrop season when new seedlings emerge, pollinated by the bees in the previous year. With my eyes peeled close to the ground,
I love to look for any new special ones!