Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12 January to 10 March you will be able to enjoy our snowdrop festival. We have a fantastic collection of snowdrops that will appeal to both the aficionado and the general garden visitor alike. Those in the know will appreciate the specialist collections amassed by previous head gardener Matt Bishop, with more recent additions of a legacy collection from Colin Mason's garden, and generous donations or swaps from Avon Bulbs, Andy Byfield and Julian Sutton.
The lovers of drifts of naturalised snowdrops will be spoilt by the thousands of late season Galanthus 'S. Arnott’ scattered artfully across our meadows. If you are new to snowdrops you will be in danger of being converted into a galanthophile, the keenest of collectors, and have to have them all. The gateway Galanthus are the relatively affordable good doers that offer distinctive features and the ability to bulk up. Galanthus 'S.Arnott is a good starter snowdrop, a very robust late season performer. It is an archetypal white snowdrop but bigger so it comfortably holds its flowers above the grass when naturalised.
Galanthus 'Wendy's Gold' is one of the more readily available yellow snowdrops; it has a bright yellow ovary and strong yellow markings on the inner segments.
Galanthus 'Lady Beatrix Stanley' is a neat double that readily increases.
For my final pick, it has to be Galanthus 'Godfrey Owen' with its six pure white symmetrical outer petals which open to give a wide lampshade form.
I hope I have piqued your interest and you will soon be on the slippery slope of becoming a collector - something we will be delighted to help you with as during January and February we will be hosting five specialist nurseries who will enable you to indulge your new passion! For more details, please see thegardenhouse.org.uk
Nick Hayward
The Garden House
Photo credits: John Richmond
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