Snowdrops | Lily Ella

Snowdrops!

photo credit: free image from Pixabey

We just love this time of year – snowdrops peeping out of garden borders and great swathes of them lining countryside verges and hedgerows. 

There’s something so uplifting about snowdrops – they herald the first signs of the upcoming Spring months and the promise of warmer things in store.  

Snowdrops seem go hand in hand with cheerful bunches of cheap daffodils that suddenly appear in florists shops and supermarkets – guaranteed to lift our mood!

There are many strains of snowdrop (latin name Galanthus), but one of the most common and best loved is the ‘Galanthus nivalis’ which often carpets woodland floors and gardens.  Considered a British native, it was probably brought to Britain in the 16th century (we didn’t know that either, we checked it out on the RHS site!).

We hope you get the chance to go out exploring and enjoy some of the amazing snowdrop festivals, weekends and walks around the country at this time of year.  They’re usually around until March; the National Trust have a long list of properties with special snowdrop events.  However, we thought you’d enjoy seeing this list compiled by Country Life Magazine as it has many of our favourite spots in the UK on it!

http://www.countrylife.co.uk/gardens/where-to-see-snowdrops-19222

There is also an irresistible choice of 80 wonderful gardens celebrating the National Garden Scheme’s Snowdrop Festival this February:

https://www.ngs.org.uk/find-a-garden/snowdrop-gardens/

Photo credit: Austwick Hall, Settle, N Yorks. National Garden Scheme.

Photo credit: Judi Lion Photography.  Sandhill Farmhouse Petersfield, Sussex, National Garden Scheme.

To finish, here is a photo of some of the snowdrops at Howick Hall, near to Lily Ella’s home up here in Northumberland.  

photo credit: Howick Hall Gardens & Arboretum, Northumberland.

Although we’ve now launched our Spring 2018 collection you can still find some fantastic winter bargains on the Outlet section of our website. Wrap up warm and enjoy your snowdrop walks in comfort as winter draws to a close.

Can’t wait for the crocuses next!