Snowdrops (species of Galanthus) are popular late winter or early spring flowers which are celebrated as a sign of spring and can attract large numbers of visitors to places where they are growing. The reason for their popularity is that snowdrops can form impressive carpets of white in areas where they are native or have been naturalised. Most 'Snowdrop Gardens' will have the common snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, but some have more unusual snowdrops, some which may be unique to the garden that they are growing in. The rarest may only survive in that garden due to the conditions and environment.
Galanthophile A galanthophile is a snowdrop enthusiast. They may be authors of snowdrop books, cultivate snowdrops, collect snowdrops and have displays of them for personal and public display. Well known galanthophiles are the horticulturalist E. A. Bowles and the nurseryman James Allen. Modern day galanthophiles range from teenagers to the elderly, who continue under the same principles but also visit many of the gardens each year to see the displays of snowdrops as part of their hobby.Winterman, D (2012) "Snowdrop fanciers and their mania" The UK-based Cottage Garden Society has a snowdrop group that visits snowdrop gardens every year.The Cottage Garden Society (2012) "Regional Groups - Snowdrop", http://thecottagegardensociety.org.uk/Regional%20Groups/local_groups/view_group/38
Notable events There are a number of snowdrop gardens in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Sixty gardens took part in Scotland's first Snowdrop Festival (1 Feb–11 March 2007). Several gardens in England open during snowdrop season for the National Gardens Scheme (NGS).
England and Wales Adlington Hall & Gardens, Cheshire Anglesey Abbey, Lode, Cambridgeshire Bank Hall, Bretherton, Lancashire Benington Lordship, Hertfordshire Brandy Mount, New Alresford, Hampshire (NCCPG National Plant Collection of Snowdrops) (NGS) Calke Abbey, Ticknall, Derbyshire Chelsea Physic Garden, has over 120 varieties which bloom especially early due to the garden's warmth Chippenham Park, Newmarket, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.Chippenham Park Gardens (2010) "Snowdrops", http://www.chippenhamparkgardens.info/snowdrops.htm Colesbourne Park, GloucestershireColesbourne Park (2011), "Snowdrops", http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/the-garden/snowdrops.html East Lambrook Manor, Somerset (NGS) Easton Lodge, near Little Easton, Essex Easton Walled Gardens, near Grantham, LincolnshireEaston Walled Gardens (2012) "Snowdrops", http://www.eastonwalledgardens.co.uk/Detail.asp?S=5&V=1&Event=1 Felley Priory, Nottinghamshire The Garden House, Dartmoor, Devon - over 350 varieties. Snowdrop festival every February. http://www.thegardenhouse.org.uk Goldsborough Hall, Goldsborough, near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire Hopton Hall, Hopton, Derbyshire Hodsock Priory, Nottinghamshire Ickworth House, Park and Gardens, Horringer, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Kingston Lacy, Dorset Moggerhanger House, Bedfordshire Ness Botanic Gardens, Merseyside Painswick Rococo Gardens, Gloucestershire Rode Hall & Gardens, Cheshire Rodmarton Manor, Gloucestershire Walsingham, Norfolk Welford Park, Newbury, Berkshire Wye Valley Sculpture Garden, Tintern, Monmouthshire
Scotland Lawton House, Arbroath, AngusScotlands Garden Scheme "Lawton House", http://www.scotlandsgardens.org/gardens/garden/4fddbcb9-a25d-4e65-aa59-9f7200dc49fa Cambo Estate, Fife Danevale Park, Crossmichael, DumfriesScotlands Garden Scheme (2012) "Danevale Park", http://www.scotlandsgardens.org/garden.aspx?id=1a950782-4aac-4e2c-a3f4-9fda00a1c26f Finlaystone, Renfrewshire Gagie House, Dundee
Ireland Mark Smyth's Garden, Antrim Primrose Hill, Lucan, County Dublin, Altamont Garden, Tullow, County Carlow
Hungary Alcsút Palace, Fejér county - 2.5 hectare large snowdrop field with six Mediterranean species, probably established in the 19th century by the Habsburg family
Further reading Aaron P. Davis, The Genus Galanthus, A Botanical Magazine Monograph. Timber Press, Portland, OR (in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) Matt Bishop, Aaron Davis, John Grimshaw, Snowdrops - A Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus, Griffin Press, January 2002 () Stern F C, Snowdrops and Snowflakes – A study of the Genera Galanthus and Leucojum, The Royal Horticultural Society, 1956
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