Are you a super fan of snowdrops?

Snowdrops come in various forms, shades, and sizes. Leaf colour can vary from deepest green to glaucus. The earliest varieties start blooming in late autumn, others don’t open until February. There are single flowering species such as nivalis, and double cultivars such as ‘Flore Pleno.’

I love the sweet fragrance that emanates from a group of ‘S. Arnott.’ But the greatest attraction of all to enthusiasts (Galanthophiles) are the individual flower markings.

While others stand admiring what is ostensibly a stunning display for this time of year, a galanthophile might be down at knee, hand-lens to the fore, in search of varied petal designs. These are green or gold shapes, set against the white background.

Any thought to be special and desirable to collectors are initially of limited addition and therefore have monetary value.

Online bidding at an annual Galanthus auction over the past decade, has resulted in hundreds of pounds being paid for a single bulb.

In 2013 Thompson & Morgan outbid 30 competitors in an online auction to acquire the world`s then, most expensive snowdrop. Galanthus woronowii ‘Elizabeth Harrison,’ with its golden yellow ovary and yellow petal marks, cost them £725. This was almost double the price of the previous year`s world record holder Galanthus ‘Green Tear.’

However, buying a bunch of normal snowdrop bulbs in the green has not been unduly affected by this. Go online and amongst the offers you’ll discover that some single or double flowering varieties can be purchased at £15 for 25 bulbs or £25 for 50.

Thoughts of the 17th century Dutch ‘Tulip Mania’ spring to mind. So popular were tulips that the rarest varieties changed hands for up to six times an average worker’s annual salary per bulb. Then in 1637 the market collapsed!