Snowdrops, a Winter spectacle
What is it about snowdrops? Every year they reappear with unfailing regularity, popping up just as winter has got to the stage when we all long for it to end, to tell us that there really is something cheerful about February. And despite their apparent delicacy, small white flowers on short slender stems, they are unfailingly robust; often pushing through inches of snow and flowering for weeks on end, showing none of the weather-affected temperamentality that makes growing so many plants a nail-biting exercise.
What better way to shake off the winter and to celebrate the exciting gardening year ahead than with the National Garden Scheme’s 2022 Snowdrop Festival. These glorious harbingers of what is to come, can be viewed at 100 National Garden Scheme gardens throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland during January, February, and March.
On a wintry day there is nothing better than visiting a garden gleaming with one of the earliest flowering plants of the year. Whether you enjoy carpets of naturalised white in woodlands meticulously grown rare varieties of snowdrops or gardens boasting a colourful mix of snowdrops, hellebores, and other early spring flowers – there is something for galanthophiles and garden enthusiasts alike.
Snowdrop Festival Facts
- The festival runs between 1st – 28th February; however, a few gardens are open for snowdrops in late January and early March too.
- For romantics, 27 snowdrop gardens open over the Valentine weekend (12th –13th February) with Little Court, Hampshire open on Monday 14th February.
- Many of the gardens feature Galanthus, hellebores and other early spring flowers.
- Among the gardens opening many are owned by snowdrop experts including: Copton Ash, Kent; Knowle Hill Farm, Kent; Spring Platt, Kent; Pembury House, East Sussex; Higher Cerubeer, Devon; Hollyhocks, Oxfordshire.
- Other stunning displays can be found at Welford Park, Berkshire; East Lambrook Manor Gardens, Somerset; Chawton House, Hampshire; Blakenham Woodland Garden, Suffolk; Gatton Park, Surrey; Walkern Hall, Hertfordshire.
- Galanthopile, the name given to a snowdrop specialist, stems from the Latin word Galanthus, meaning snowdrop!
Whether you are a committed galanthophile or simply just looking to enjoy the winter spectacle of snowdrops, the gardens in the National Garden Scheme Snowdrop Festival offer the best array of snowdrops anywhere and many of them are only open briefly so make sure you don’t miss out.
www.ngs.org.uk/snowdrops
or download the National Garden Scheme app
