As we approach the end of the ‘longest month’, snowdrops herald the return of spring.
After the excitement of December’s events, January finds itself picking up the bills. The weather is still awful and the sun has only just started getting up earlier. It isn’t, but somehow January seems to feel longer than any other month.
But we’re finally reaching the end, and the weekend weather forecast promises a reasonable start to February. While February is still a winter month, it’s now that the first flowers arrive to remind us Spring is on the way.
The resilient beauty of snowdrops
Snowdrops are delicate blooms of white among dead leaves and the detritus of winter. No wonder so many people love them so much. At the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) their Bedfordshire website highlights the strength of these apparently-delicate flowers. Their leaves have hardened tips to enable them to push through hard ground and they contain a natural antifreeze.
That is not the only wonder snowdrops contain. They have an active component called galantamine, which is a drug that can slow cognitive decline. This is a definite don’t-try-this-at-home though – snowdrops are poisonous!
It’s not entirely clear when snowdrops arrived in Britain. Walsingham Abbey says they might have arrived with the Romans, although not common until over a thousand years later. CPRE Bedfordshire suggests they arrived with Italian monks in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The world of ‘Galanthophiles’
To the uninitiated, like me, a snowdrop is a snowdrop. But to an expert, a snowdrop could belong to one of 20 species within the genus Galanthus, and lovers of snowdrops are called Galanthophiles.
Within those 20 species there are thousands of varieties, with breeders working to produce new ones all the time. In 2022, Cambridgeshire breeder Joe Sharman sold a single bulb for £1,850. That variety is called ‘Golden Tears’ and broke Sharman’s own record, set in 2015, with £1,390 for ‘Golden Fleece’. The current price for a ‘Golden Fleece’ bulb is £220.
Breeding new varieties is not easy. Snowdrop Wiki uses ‘Golden Fleece’ as an example. Left to themselves though, snowdrops happily cross with each other and gardeners just have to keep an informed lookout for them. For instance, Anglesey Abbey’s collection includes some that originated there.
The best way to see Anglesey Abbey’s snowdrops is to go on a guided tour. These take place every day except Saturdays, throughout February. Anglesey Abbey is a National Trust site and entry is free for members, as well as members of the Royal Horticultural Society. Fees for others are here.
Anglesey Abbey tops a list of the UK’s best snowdrop gardens, compiled by Perennial (formerly the Gardeners’ Benevolent Institution). More gardens in the East of England feature too, with a total of 3 out of the 15 listed. They are all identified in the far from exhaustive list of places to see the best snowdrop displays, below.
Where else to see snowdrops in the east of England
Norfolk
East Ruston Old Vicarage has its Snowdrop Day this Sunday, 2 February (details are a little way down their website). As well as some 150 varieties to see, there is the opportunity to buy interesting snowdrops, with refreshments available too. Entrance: £7. The gardens will re-open on Saturday 1 March, so this is the only opportunity this month to see these stunning gardens.
Also in Norfolk, East Anglia Bylines‘ editor Kate Moore reports: “Thorpe Market Church has a marvellous display in its churchyard. With its unique gothick (gothic revival) architecture built by Lord Suffield, every Sunday in February St Margaret’s hosts an artist, as well as serving tea and cakes in the warm church as a fund raising exercise.”
Walsingham Abbey is open now, admission £7, 6-16 £2.75, under 6 free, card only. They have a special Snowdrop Charity Day on Saturday 15 February, in aid of the Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
Suffolk
Fullers Mill Garden, also on the Perennial top 15 list, is near Bury St Edmunds and has over 100 varieties on show. It is only open on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout February, but the good news is that there are representatives from various nurseries there on each day. As well as being able to buy snowdrops, there’s the opportunity to get advice and tips. Adults £10, Perennial members and under-16s Free, RHS members Free on Wednesday afternoons.
The National Gardens Scheme (NGS) lists private gardens which are open on particular days. They include Blakenham Woodland Garden, in Suffolk. This is a 6 acre site and its owner is good at identifying snowdrops, including ‘Great Glenham’. They are open on Sunday 9 February, admission: adults £5, children £3 and there will be cake, tea and coffee available.
Cambridgeshire
Chippenham Park, another that makes Perennial’s top 15 snowdrop sites, is near Newmarket and is open every day. There are walks through beech woods, with their best displays at the far end of the lake. Please note entry and refreshments in the café are cash only. Fees are £10 for adults and £3 for 5-16 year-olds, free for RHS members Mondays to Fridays.
Essex
Daws Hall Nature Reserve, on the Essex/Suffolk border, has 3 Snowdrop Sundays to come, on 2, 9 and 16 February. Snowdrops spread across their 25 acre nature reserve. There are hot and cold drinks and homemade cakes on offer. Entry by donation.
The NGS site lists 8 gardens in Essex and Copped Hall in Epping Forest has its Snowdrop Day on Sunday 9 February. The Gibberd Garden, near Harlow, is open on Sundays and Wednesdays throughout February.
Hertfordshire
The NGS lists 5 sites in Hertfordshire. These include Walkern Hall, which is open this weekend, Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 February, admission £6, children free with a range of refreshments available.
Muddy Stilettos adds more, including Bennington Lordship, with its Norman keep surrounded by snowdrops. They are open from Saturday 1 – Sunday 23 February, admission prices here, and have plants for sale.
Bedfordshire
Muddy Stilettos also mentions Bedfordshire, especially the Swiss Garden at the Shuttleworth Collection. Their admission ticket, available online, can be used multiple times within 30 days. The NGS lists two more Bedfordshire gardens, which will be open later in February.
There are lots of other places to see snowdrops across our region. If you would like some snowdrops, or a new-to-you species in your garden, you can plant as bulbs or, preferably, ‘in the green’ – meaning while they still have green leaves and are actively growing. The Royal Horticultural Society has lots of good advice here. The NGS has advice on dividing existing clumps to encourage spread.
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