Galanthus March 2011

[Martin Baxendale]

Thought I'd start a new snowdrop thread for March with my posting as the old one will be dead in less than an hour from now.

Not a very good pic, thanks to incredibly low light levels today. Another of my selected seedlings that managed to escape last year's mass chipping exercise to bulk up my best seedlings and so was flowering as a small clump in the garden. Lifting and potting has disarranged the clump a bit, but in the garden it looked very nice with its perfectly curving, dangling pedicels. The flowers are nicely rounded with very ridged outers. Not opening very wide yet, even indoors, and the photo doesn't really do it justice.

I'll try to get a better photo when the sun reappears and the stems have stood up straight again after today's lifting and shoving into a pot.

[Hagen Engelmann]

Martin, very nice globular flowers.

[Hagen Engelmann]

A normal CLIFF CURTIS, but an unusual moment of color.

[mark smyth]

By far most of my snowdrops are now finished which is way too early. People are coming to visit this weekend

[Jo]

By far most of my snowdrops are now finished which is way too early. People are coming to visit this weekend

I sympathise Mark,  it looks light the lights have been switched off in my garden and there is damp confetti  left after a really raving wedding party. 

Roll on hellebores, primulas, erythroniums, narcissus etc, etc. Lets have colour in place of white light.

[Maggi Young]

Mark, Jo, I have moved your last two posts to the new thread.




Meanwhile, as you folks in warmer climes are lamenting the passing of your drops, here in Aberdeen, on a lovely sunny day, ours are getting beautuifully into their stride. Some are fully open ( only the most precocious ones are even slightly stale) and some are only just coming through the ground. the Eranthis are opening fully inthe sun and the scent of honey from them is intoxicating. to add icing to this floral  cake, the crocus are opening..... deep joy, this may well be the start of Spring. 

We are, I promise, sparing a thought for our Friends in the far north who still have a couple of months of snow and ice to contend with before they get their first glimpse of these early treasures.

[Jo]

Oooo Maggie, you're so lucky to be at the beginning.  Maybe one year we should hire a camper van and follow the white 

[mark smyth]

I'll join you Jo

Hagen what a stunning snowdrop

[Brian Ellis]

Well we are getting to the end of the season here, although there are a few hardy souls remaining in the garden.  Ann Borrill picked me up this morning and we went to Raveningham Hall to see the snowdrops.  It is open this week from 11-4 until Friday for Priscilla Bacon Lodge (Hospice).  This might give you an idea why we went.  It is not too far from ours, but it was a bitterly cold day so we didn't hang about.  Just had a quick word with Joe, the head gardener, on our wanderings round.  I didn't take many pictures, and the ones I wanted to show of a Warei type with enormous upright spathe, and another in the same clump with gracefully arching pedicel didn't come out
Raveningham Hall is the home of Sir Nicholas Bacon Bt, OBE, DL Treasurer of the RHS.  He is the son of the late Priscilla, Lady Bacon after whom the snowdrop is named.  There is also a snowdrop called 'Raveningham'.
Here is the Hall, the gardens specialise in rare shrubs and herbaceous plants and were laid out around 100 years ago around a red brick Georgian house. There is also a Victorian conservatory, walled kitchen garden and new arboretum and for the Millenium a new lake was built.
Lots of the trees are surrounded by swathes of galanthus, eranthis and narcissus and although the galanthus are just hanging on, being past their best the first of the narcissus are beginning to come out.
We headed to the church first, but it was being painted for the first time in 52 years so didn't go inside, there were drifts of snowdrops planted on all the approach routes from the gardens to the church.  I believe many of the statues are by the present Lady Bacon, whether this letter-cutting is or not I don't know, but it's a nice sentiment.  Many of the snowdrops are also planted on banks which is nice to see.

[Brian Ellis]

Here are some of the snowdrops that caught our eyes, they are not generally labelled, but there were Warei types, Lady Elphinstone types, Scharlockii types etc etc  One or two hellebores were dotted round the gardens too.

[Brian Ellis]

Then we had a quick wander round the arboretum before we were too cold to look any more - hence not a lot of photos, too cold   Finally a reminder of the snowdrop named after the previous Lady Bacon.

[Mavers]

(Refers to another thread:Thanks for the extra info regarding Emerald Isle Paddy)

Also.......Wow Priscilla Bacon is now on my wants list.

Here are some pictures of Beth Chatto as supplied to me 2 years ago by bethchattogardens.

This, I reckon, is the true plant. The flower shape is correct & the way the foliage lays flat just above the soil.

[Mavers]

And here's a picture of the lovely little 'Greenish'

[Brian Ellis]

Have you a picture of the inner mark on your Beth Chatto Mavers?

[Mavers]

This is the best I have at the moment Brian, I'll try to get a better photo of it tomorrow