Plant of the Month

snowdrops at end of January 2018

The snowdrop is such an amazing little tough nut. Fortunately we have a mossy bank at the front in which a ""mish mash" of the little marvels have been naturalized. The species has long been associated with winter – the latin name, Galanthus nivalis, literally translates as ‘milk flower of the snow’. Although they thrive in lightly shaded woodland areas ours are pretty exposed at the front of the house.

The white flowers hang from a single stem with three inner petals (called tepals) curved into a tight pointed oval and three external petals loosely opening outwards. These flower heads can be ‘single’ – one layer of petals – or ‘double’ – multiple layers of petals – headed. The grassy foliage is a vibrant light green. Apparently,there are more than 2,500 varieties and, although not a native species, they are now well established in the wild in the UK. As you can see from the photograph we have a rather random selection

In British folklore; snowdrops have come to symbolize hope and purity. In modern medicine a naturally occurring substance within the plant, called galantamine, is used to help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. However, the bulbs themselves are poisonous, a fact which perhaps lead to the superstition that a single snowdrop bloom in a house represents death.

My top tip would be, if you are naturalizing some in your own garden, plant them out "in the green". That is plant in late spring, buying just after flowering when the leaves are still green. This is the simplest way of establishing snowdrops.