I got to sleep in an extra hour this morning, so the sun was already coming up as I left for work. Strange things happen when your routine gets a little off. Apparently while I slept, winter came and went and now we’re looking at the first snowdrop of the year! Surely this picture must be right out of late march?
Fall blooming snowdrop
Wishful thinking aside, it’s not March and this isn’t the last snowfall. It’s the first in fact and the snowdrop is my little fall blooming galanthus elwesii (monosticus?) which I thought had died of spite over the summer. This is the fall blooming variant of the regular spring blooming giant snowdrop (giant being a relative term with drops) and I just love it. When I saw it sprouting earlier in the week I did a little skip around the yard and then ran to tell my housemate…. She was much less impressed. Maybe the kids will appreciate it, I’ll just have to remind them it shouldn’t be picked 🙂
sorta like suburbia 
I didn’t know there was a fall blooming variety. I love snow drops. We have some daffodils that are trying to come up early and I am hoping the cold front we are having will settle them back down.
Hi Laurin, good to hear from you again!
Fall snowdrops are a big thing for me, with winter barreling our way we don’t have as may options as you for late fall and winter color. No pansies or mahonia or nandina up here in the frozen north 😦
That is so beautiful and a lovely reminder of what we have to come early next year.
You’re right, or it’s a little teaser before the snow really comes!
Now wouldn’t that be nice…. hibernate and wake up to the first flowers of spring! 😉
Your little giant snowdrop is lovely. The snow is not so welcome though I suspect.
I guess I can deal with the snow, it’s the drop off in temperatures that I’m not thrilled about. A few pots are still outside in the frost. I guess I’ll have to take care of that this weekend.
Plus all the dahlias and cannas. Ugh!
Oh Frank what a reminder that winter is coming soon, mitigated by the joy of a snow drop but what a shock to go to sleep in autumn and wake up in winter.
And there’s more to come! We have a storm predicted for Monday and I still have a plant order to be received and bulbs to plant. I may even still order more bulbs LOL
It will hopefully warm again for a few days, otherwise I’ll have a few extras to overwinter in the garage…. Fortunately I am not one to worry much about these things, I find it’s more fun to go ahead and give it a try rather than worry about things not working out. My informal research has shown that it only takes a few weeks in spring to forget about most of my mistakes!
-Frank 😉
What a lovely surprise for you, the snowdrop that is, not the snow! How wonderful to see one so early, I hadn’t realised that there was a G. ellwesii that flowered in the autumn, I will have to wait for another 6 weeks before my first one is in flower.
I wish I only had six weeks to wait! If that were the case these fall ones might not be worth all the trouble. (I just dug it up last night worried that the cold would be too much. It’s going to spend the winter under lights now)
I’m already looking forward to your snowdrops pictures. I hope your Wendy’s Gold has multiplied again 🙂
Aw, Frank, what good is a fall-blooming snowdrop if you have to dig it up and put it in the garage?
I’m collecting little white flowers which require kneeling in the mud in near freezing temperatures in order to tell them apart…. And your first question is why do I grow the one that’s not fully hardy? 🙂
I learned only recently that there is a fall blooming snowdrop, and now I MUST have one! You’ll probably get an extra hour sleep in on Monday, Frank, if schools are delayed for the ice storm. I wonder what strange thing you’ll find then. P. x
Why is it we often hear of fall-blooming crocus but not fall-blooming snowdrops? I suppose it is better for the plants to have consistently frigid temperatures rather than wild swings. We’ll see if this is a sign we’re about to get a replay of last winter.
A few days ago I would have voted for no replay of last winter, but after the last couple nights I’m not so sure anymore.
Oh the snow is falling here too and will be all week. The last of the flowers will be gone. I am not much for snowdrops and only have those in Spring, but it is nice to have blooms in late Fall.
It’s at this time of year that I really envy the gardeners in warmer climes. They seem to have something in bloom in between every cold snap. We’re lucky to have anything before April!
I just found this for some reason it didn’ t appear in my reader. So you have an Autumn snowdrop too, you didn’ t say! Barnes is a variety of this.
Surely snowdrops are fully hardy. Mind you I get the point of grovelling in the mud. I got wet knees photographing mine.
I have mine near the front door and people keep knocking on the door to tell me with great excitement that I have snowdrops out! As if I hadn’ t noticed.
haha, funny that people are telling you what goodies you have in your own garden!
I am pleased to have this one snowdrop. It might be quite anonymous but that doesn’t bother me a bit. I’m not overly concerned about the other drops but this one and some of the earliest risers run into trouble with our worst cold snaps. I frequently get burnt leaf tips and wilted flowers after a particularly brutal freeze, and some patches have even died after freezing while in growth.
that is some fanciful thinking!! very cool that there are fall snow drops, had no idea. we have our first snow storm tonight… seems like it has come out of now where when we were having a perfectly lovely fall!! It will be march before we know it right? Don’t let the kids pick it.
I’m going to hold you to your comment that spring will be here before we know it…. right now it seems pretty far away, in fact I wasn’t even ready to admit that fall was over yet!