It's Snowdrop Time!

Snowdrops are here! Whoopee doo! 

Winter is finally drawing to an end and spring is on its way! 

Oooh aren't they magical? They never fail to lift the spirits. 

White, pure, pretty and special.....you can see why it is our family's custom to make a wish when we spot the first snowdrops of the year.  

Galanthus Nivalis

This weekend is one of the last of the season when many gardens with carpets of snowdrops are open for snowdrop walks/visits, so if you love them like I do, make sure you put this in your diary!  

I have been fortunate enough to visit Easton Walled Gardens in Lincolnshire. 

Wrapping up warm and donning my wellies my family and I spent a very happy couple of hours making our way through the prepared paths delighting at the swathes of snowdrops on banks and through woodland. 

Galanthus nivalis

It was very busy, as the opportunity to see them in bloom is so limited, but it was full of friendly visitors sharing the same admiration for this little beauty.  

The gardens and views are wowtastic too but after being outside in the freezing weather we were glad that the tearoom sold lots of hot coffee and delicious, home-made soups to warm us all up.

Other snowdrop spectaculars are:

Snowdrop valley, Somerset
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
Rode Hall Congleton
Painswick Rocco Garden, Gloucestershire
Gatton Gardens, Surrey
Cambo Estate, Scotland
Hodsock Priory, Nottinghamshire
Bank Hall Bretherton

If you are not lucky enough to visit one of these gardens then you can still find beautiful displays growing wild in woodlands, along river banks and, as I noticed during a country walk at the weekend, along roadsides too!

Alternatively, establish them in your own garden and enjoy them at your leisure.  

A gardening tip is to plant freshly-lifted snowdrops 'in the green' (when the foliage is just dying back) into moist soil in the spring. They are sure to thrive and you will have your own wonderful show at the end of every Winter. 'In the green' snowdrops are available from garden centres or nurseries online now.