Galanthus February 2011

[Lesley Cox]

Will John be your first model?

Jennie

At least hair will not get in the way!

johnw

[Brian Ellis]

They are about the size of our nivalis - later on they became somewhat larger than it.
The pot has a diameter of 30 cm.
Gerd

Thanks for the extra information Gerd, not quite as small as I thought, but nice and stout!

[Brian Ellis]

As I am stuck indoors feeling sorry for myself that I have not gone to Matt's do I thought the few galanthophiles who could not get there might enjoy a few photos.  It's been a busy week and the only time I got out it was windy and I couldn't get decent photo's apart from one or two which I show here.
Firstly a present from a friend who lives in Lynch Green who found this in her garden - so that's what the label says!  I know JohnF showed Alan's Treat a couple of days ago, but it is so lovely I include mine here (and these are the only photos that were'nt blurred!
Yesterday afternoon I took a visitor round the garden, and before she arrived I bought some potted snowdrops indoors so she could see them with their skirts up and David could then photograph them.  I also thought that perhaps she would be satisfied with those, but she was here for three hours altogether looking round the garden and learning about the snowdrops - I think I may have passed the fever on!  Here are the first few he took.  Blithe Spirit is a Northumberland find I believe.  Eliot Hodgkin (the Foxgrove form) was a gift from a forum member to compare with Kath Dryden's form which is not yet in flower.  One that was found in Sheringham Park and removed with permission of the warden, it's a really good snowdrop in a clump.  Next another north Norfolk snowdrop, one of the many that came from Warham Rectory, and finally 'Goblet' (not Margaret) another found at Lynch Green...just a good snowdrop.  I wish it would stop raining

 

[Brian Ellis]

...and another Norfolk snowdrop, a recent gift from a couple of lurkers    This is one I have been hoping to find over a long period of time.  It's a super snowdrop named after the late Lady Priscilla Bacon of Raveningham Hall, Norfolk a good plantswoman.  Thanks to her the grounds are a lovely site in the spring.  Last year a friend and I went particularly to see if we could see this snowdrop, but there was only one to be found.  The good news is that I believe it will be available at the Gala.

[chasw]

Lets hope that the weather is better at the week end then Brian,I think that the blue background really does show them off better

[Paddy Tobin]

G. 'Lady Prescilla Bacon' is certainly a sturdy looking snowdrop, a fine looking one indeed.

David's photography is to highly commended. Obviously, he has taken these indoors. I usually take them in the garden and, as you found out yourself, have to take my chances with weather, wind, light etc and the results can be haphazard.

Does David use a lightbox? Ask him about his setup as I am interested.

So, we didn't go to the the snowdrop event in Devon but, at least, we will have John's reports and photographs and I am looking forward to those. I must make the effort to go across at some stage in the future. Certainly, Devon would be accessible from here - ferry and drive.

I can look forward to Altamont Gardens next week and Primrose Hill on the following week.

Paddy

[Alan_b]

This is a funny little nivalis snowdrop I found last year.  It did the same thing last year so I am hoping it is stable, and anyway I only have the one bulb as yet!  The outer petals are the same as the inners, the opposite of a poculiform snowdrop.  I know it looks as if I have just removed the outer petals but you can see the real inner petal in the middle. 

[Brian Ellis]

Thanks for your comments chaps. David is pleased that you like them as this is a learning experience for him too.  He has not used the flashgun for anything else and is just getting used to indoor macro.

Paddy, David has a fully furnished studio, it's called the spare bedroom.  The background is a piece of blue card, he is thinking now of getting black.  It is leaning against an old dressing table mirror and held still by a highly technical clothes peg (don't they have a myriad of uses), attached to the curtain.  Natural light is coming from the right and he uses a flashgun (Canon speedlight 580EX), which is reduced in power by ⅓ of a stop -depending on the strength of the natural light.  The camera, a Canon 40D is on a tripod with an electronic shutter release cable to avoid shake.  The pictures are taken in RAW and then there is a minimum of manipulation using Photoshop elements.  The aperture might be changed and a slight adjustment of the white balance to make certain that the snowdrop is white (!) and the green is natural.  Finally each picture is sharpened using unsharp mask and then saved as a jpeg, which is then transferred to me on my laptop, I make the final adjustments in size for the forum.  The photo's are then going into my database for reference and I should be checking that the snowdrops are what they purport to be.  I am, however, getting way behind with that, and may well leave it to the dark days of next winter!

[Sean Fox]

Nice photos Brian, tell David to keep up the good work.
Personally I love the blue background as I like the contrast of the greens to the blue. These are some of the best photos I've seen on the web for the minute details of each flower 

[Brian Ellis]

This is a funny little nivalis snowdrop I found last year.  It did the same thing last year so I am hoping it is stable, and anyway I only have the one bulb as yet!  The outer petals are the same as the inners, the opposite of a poculiform snowdrop.  I know it looks as if I have just removed the outer petals but you can see the real inner petal in the middle. 

That's an interesting find Alan, a bit like the plicatus 'Clovis'

[johnw]

That's an interesting find Alan, a bit like the plicatus 'Clovis'

Brian  -  Have you seen Clovis in the flesh?  I have often wondered how large or small it might be.  Nice find Alan and lovely shots Brian/David.

johnw

[Maggi Young]

Interestingly ( for me, at least!) I think the snowdrops look superb against the blue background, whereas I find that colour used for, say, narcissus, not to be at all pleasing.... I think it is a question of the contrast in tones.

[Alan_b]

That's an interesting find Alan, a bit like the plicatus 'Clovis'

I'm not sure if I have ever seen Clovis in real life and The Book says it is not consistent from one year to the next and may have one or two regular outer petals in some years.  My foundling has managed to be the same for two years running - that's as long as I've had it.

[Brian Ellis]

I haven't seen 'Clovis' yet, but we are going to Richard Hobbs on Monday and will find out then...if not at the Gala!

Perhaps your find should be crossed with 'Clovis' Alan, that would be interesting!

[snowdropman]

In an article in the January Newsletter of the Cottage Garden Society Snowdrop Group, Richard Hobbs wrote about 'Clovis' saying “this plant sometimes has three outers and three inners when it looks rather boring; other times one or two outers or five or four inners when it looks unusual but rather ungainly; and occasionally it has no outers and six inners when it looks magnificent! A typical clump will include all possible combinations. Bulbs will do different things in different years. It is a fascinating plant and a real talking point.”