Plant of the Month – Snowdrops

Even though it’s a time when most of us are ready for Spring, February is a reminder of the hardships of Winter. It can be a month of turmoil in the sky and many plants are happy to to stay hidden until the storms of February have passed, but there up pops the white flowers of Galanthus nivalis or more commonly known as the Snowdrop to cheer us up and tell us Spring is just around the corner.

Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrop)

Galanthus nivalis is known as the common Snowdrop. It is the most widespread of the 20 species in its Genus.

The snowdrop isn’t a UK native. They became fashionable in the Victorian era but, due to it being known under several different names, no one knows for sure, when they were first introduced to the UK. The first records of plants in the wild date from 1778 – but botanist John Gerard is said to have described the snowdrop in his writings from 1597.

Snowdrops were named after earrings not drops of snow.

Snowdrops are among the first bulbs to bloom in Spring and look really impressive when planted on mass.

A naturally occurring substance within the plant, called galantamine, is used to help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, although the bulbs themselves are poisonous.

Now is a good time to plant Snowdrops so come on down to Thorngrove and buy yours as we have new stock!

We also have plenty of other Spring bulbs to choose from such as Tete + Tete, Iris reticulatas, Crocus, Muscari, Scented Dutch Iris’s and Tulips.