Plant of the month - Snowdrop

Who doesn’t love a snowdrop? One of the very first signs of Spring even if, like this year, it is growing through the snow.

The botanical name is Galanthus, and there are many varieties of this small bulb, some tiny, others much sturdier, and some with double flowers. Always graceful, the white nodding snowdrop flowers usually have distinctive green markings. Some gardeners become so fanatical about building up collections of all the different types that they have been christened with the name ‘Galanthophile’ – snowdrop lover!

Tolerant of a wide range of soil, including heavy clay (so ideal for Marden gardens), snowdrops prefer light shade. They will grow under hedges, among perennials in the border and will even naturalise in light grass. Try not to let them dry out in the summer though, so incorporating some organic matter in the soil will help retain moisture.

The best way to get snowdrops growing in your garden is to buy them “in the green”. This where the bulbs have dug up just after they have finished flowering but with their leaves still fresh and green. Replanted as soon as possible, the leaves will die down, but the bulb will spend the year bulking up ready to flower the following year. It is easy to build up your collection because once a clump has become large enough, dig it up in the green, split it into smaller clumps and replant these, to start the process over again.