Snowdrops and spring flowers

As seems to be the norm for spring in the UK these days, it is anyone’s guess as to what the weather will do; we’ve had beautiful t-shirt days followed by cold sideways sleet, and temperatures cold enough for three inch thick ice to form on the ponds and canal!

The snowdrop collection at Fullers Mill Garden has steadily grown over the last 10 years from around 30 interesting varieties and cultivars to well over 100. Each snowdrop is special in its own way, usually noticeable with the size and shape of the flower. For example, Galanthus elwesii ‘Godfrey Owen’ has six white outer petals, arranged like a perfect lampshade. Then there are the unusual yellow colorations of Galanthus plicatus ‘Wendy’s Gold’ with a yellow ovary and distinct yellow markings on the inner petals.

There is Galanthus gracilis with delicate twisted leaves which resemble grass and a flower which begins as a rounded bud opening to pure white outer petals and inner petals marked with green at the top and bottom.

Of course, we also have large drifts of snowdrops too, as well as winter aconites which are freely spreading on the Birch Bank in the Low Garden. Early Narcissus are a surprise as they appear silently nodding by the river.

Winter flowering shrubs are often fragrant, adding to the atmosphere in the garden; among these are Daphne, Sarcococca, and our massive witch hazel looking phenomenal below a blue sky.

Fullers Mill Garden invites visitors to come and see the snowdrop collection on Wednesdays and Fridays in February, but it is a fascinating garden with so much more to see, so why not come back in our main season?

Meanwhile at York Gate Garden…

We have been going through the usual preparations for our upcoming snowdrop fortnight at the garden which includes mostly me flapping about, and the rest of the team cracking on with trimming hedges and topiary, pressure washing, mulching, re-grading the gravel paths and more.

We had an early visit from Matt, one of our Friday volunteers, who is a self-confessed Galanthophile (snowdrop enthusiast) and excellent gardener. We had wondered if Matt might bring us a new variety for the garden, as he often does at this time of year. What we were not expecting was a full box of amazing new snowdrops he arrived with, including but not limited to two new inverse poculiform (ipocs to those in the know!) for the herb garden, Galanthus
elwesii ‘Grumpy’, a wonderful variety with green markings on the outer petals called Galanthus ‘Sprite’ and my personal favourite and one that had been on my wish list for a while, Galanthus ‘Fly Fishing’.

Come and see for yourselves, and don’t forget to visit our Plant Sales area and take a piece of York Gate Garden home with you. Our nursery team have prepared a great selection of Galanthus along with a wonderful range of spring plants.