Where to get your SNOWDROP KICKS
NOSING their way above the ground during the coldest months of the year, snowdrops are diminutive gems that remind us that warmer weather is on the way. From gardens with specialist collections of snowdrops to those with woodland carpeted in flowers, here are eight of the top places around Britain to get a fix of the white stuff. Some gardens are open daily, others at specific times, so please check websites before travelling.
Pencarrow House and Gardens, Cornwall
The garden is famed as the place where evergreen conifer Araucaria araucana was given the common name monkey puzzle tree in the 19th Century, but it also deserves its reputation for being one of the best places in Cornwall to see snowdrops. Covering 50 acres on the edge of the Camel valley, its formal and woodland garden are cheered up with drifts of white. The garden is open for its snowdrop weekend on February 10-11. pencarrow.co.uk
Colesbourne Gardens, Gloucestershire
The snowdrop displays at Colesbourne were started in the 19th Century by Henry John Elwes, a naturalist who discovered a species in Turkey that later bore his name… Galanthus elwesii. Today, 350 different snowdrop varieties can be seen in this ten-acre garden, thriving in woodland, grassy glades and on the banks of a lake. Elsewhere, look out for smaller groups in beds, borders and stone troughs. The gardens are open every weekend until the end of the month. colesbournegardens.org.uk
West Dean Gardens, West Sussex
Situated in the picturesque Lavant Valley to the north of Chichester, the 100-acre grounds surrounding a Georgian country house (home to West Dean College of Arts and Conservation) contains a series of walled gardens, parkland and formal gardens. In late winter, clumps of snowdrops pepper the site, whether naturalised in grass alongside crocuses, winter aconites and chionodoxa, or providing interest under deciduous trees. westdean.ac.uk/gardens
Benington Lordship Gardens, Hertfordshire
The ruins of a Norman keep and its moat make a romantic backdrop to a spectacular display of naturalised snowdrops. Countless common snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) in their single and double forms make up the bulk of the spectacle, started in the early 20th Century by the present owner’s family.
There are also many rare and choice varieties in the seven-acre plot, including ‘Blewbury Tart’ and ‘Primrose Warburg’. The garden will close after February 25. beningtonlordship.co.uk
Easton Walled Gardens, Lincolnshire
A stone’s throw from the A1, this 12-acre landscape close to the market town of Grantham has been in the Cholmeley family since 1592. When it opens for ‘snowdrop season’ on February 14, thousands will descend upon the garden over the next few weeks to admire the diminutive bulbs in woodland, beds, containers and on the banks of the River Witham.
In places, snowdrops combine with other seasonal wonders such as hellebores, winter aconites and dwarf irises. visiteaston.co.uk
Holme Pierrepont Hall, Nottinghamshire
Owned by Robert and Charlotte Brackenbury, a red brick Tudor manor house surveys a 30-acre estate on the outskirts of Nottingham. Used as an exclusive wedding venue for much of the year, its gates are open to the paying public until March 8 to enjoy snowdrops naturalised in grass, in the dappled shade of woodland and within beds. Among the varieties on display are Galanthus ‘Sam Arnott’ and Galanthus plicatus ‘Colossus’. holmepierreponthall.com
Penrhyn Castle and Garden, Gwynedd
Dominated by a faux Norman castle (built in the 19th Century for the Pennant family), this garden has cracking views of the Menai Strait and the Snowdon mountain range.
Its 60-acre grounds are a great place for a brisk winter’s walk, where a trail through woodland is brightened up by drifts of snowdrops. There’s plenty more to admire including a walled garden, parkland, a ruined chapel and shrubs including hamamelis, that perfume the air with their scented blooms. nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/ penrhyn-castle-and-garden
Cambo Gardens, Fife
A national collection of 350 different snowdrops can be found in the 70-acre woodland garden close to Cambo House, the home of the Erskine family since the 1670s. Narrow paths wind their way through the bosky landscape, where snowdrops carpet the ground and the banks of a burn.
Continue to the edge of the woodland and you’ll be rewarded with fantastic views of the North Sea coastline. Book online to join a special moonlight snowdrop walk on February 24. cambogardens.org.uk