26 SNOWDROPS CONTINUED
15 G. ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’ This aristocratic snowdrop has large, well-shaped double flowers with long, narrow, pointed sepals that enclose layers of white tepals, faintly edged with green. Early flowering, this snowdrop increases well. 12cm. AGM. RHS H5.
16 G. ‘ Washfield Colesbourne’ The inner mark is such a dark green one can feel the excitement of the miniaturists. It is also tall and majestic with large flowers. 20cm. 17 G. gracilis A species whose name and look I remember by thinking the leaves look grassy with thin twisted leaves, although its name actually comes from the Latin for slender or graceful, which it certainly is. 12cm.
18 G. ‘Sir Henry B- C’ Discovered in 2006 at East Lambrook, growing among a clump of ‘ Walter Fish’ and named after Margery Fish’s nephew, Sir Henry Boyd-Carpenter who inherited the garden after Margery’s death – later selling it to the Nortons. Its elegant, long, outer segments have a green band near the tips. 15cm.
19 G. plicatus ‘Madeleine’ Named by the plantsman and snowdrop expert Joe Sharman for his niece in 2002, it is a vigorous snowdrop with yellow markings and a greenish yellow ovary. The colour varies depending on site but at East Lambrook they are grown in a pot. 15cm. 20 G. ‘Wisley Magnet’ I like that the flowers fling their petals out like Dumbo’s ears when he flew. This also has the thin, bendy, pedicel that makes it dance in the wind – a captivating trait in a snowdrop. Good green markings. 16cm. 21 G. elwesii ‘Marjorie Brown’ A snowdrop with large, clear, white single flowers that have an inverted green V on the inner segment, However, it is the very distinctive, large, supervolute, arching, blue-grey glaucous leaves that make this snowdrop truly stand out. 17cm.
22 G. ‘Seagull’ This robust snowdrop is both large and thickly textured, and I particularly like its chunky, sculptured and honey-scented flowers. It is also easy to grow. 23cm. 23 G. ‘Erway’ Found in the garden of Shropshire farm called Erway, which was home to the celebrated late gardener Netta Statham. It is a mid-season flowerer and has a large, green, elongated ovary. 16cm.
24 G. ‘Dodo Norton’ This diminutive hybrid was found growing in the Ditch in the 1990s and was named, in around 2000, by snowdrop expert Matt Bishop after Dodo Norton who with her husband Andrew owned East Lambrook Manor in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s now a highly prized miniature snowdrop. 8cm.
25 G. ‘Midas’ Named by Alan Street of Avon Bulbs, who spotted it in a wood near the nursery in 2011, its green markings turn a golden yellow a few days after first opening. Possibly, a seedling between G. nivalis ‘Blonde Inge’ and G. plicatus ‘Trym’, it is best in some sun as is often the way with yellows. 11cm.
26 G. ‘Ecusson d’Or’ Discovered by Mark Brown in Northern France. Sought after for its unusual combination of yellow tips of both inner and outer segments.
This G. x valentinei hybrid is best in some sun as is often the way with yellows. 10cm.