I’m feeling a little guilty since I expected great things for this snowdrop season, but never expected it to go on forever. I’m apologizing. Sorry that every post for the past few months has mentioned ‘snow’-anything, and as the East coast gets a little winter weather, and parts of the West coast tunnel through to find front doors and buried cars, I’m also sorry that there’s no end in sight. I’ll try to be quick.
The view from the street is starting to hint at a snowdrop theme, and I think they’re ready for some more dividing and spreading around this spring for an even better show next year.
These photos were taken yesterday afternoon, and today we’re looking at about four inches of snow covering them, but the white stuff always melts quickly in March, even when a foot or two drops. Fortunately we don’t have that here… Sorry Eliza 😉
Finally a flower that’s not white. Crocus heuffelianus, ‘Tatra shades’ doing well but I bet a little dividing and spreading around (once they go dormant) would make for an even better show next year.
A light snow will highlight any new sprouts and flowers which stand out above the snowline, and surely mark them for decapitation by rabbits, but for a few days at least we were able to enjoy them. The rabbits probably figure out real quick that snowdrops are a yuck thing, but crocus are not, and once they find the first blooms they’ll spend the next night or two searching out every last flower in the yard. Good for them I guess. I do get annoyed when they keep coming back to eat every attempt the crocus make at growing foliage, since it will weaken next year’s show, but for the few days the crocus are in flower I don’t mind sharing… a little…
A white flower which is not a snowdrop (Galanthus). I love snowflakes (Leucojum vernum), and this form, which lacks nearly all the green of the normal tips, is even more special. I need to divide and spread around this and the clump behind so it bulks up quicker and puts on an even better show next year.
So that’s two flowers which are not snowdrops and I feel less sorry again, so back to normal!
Can you tell I never pruned that rose last year? Add that to the list. Also add dividing ‘Augustus’ to the list, he’s the drop in the front and with such nice foliage I think dividing and moving him around to a few new spots would make for an even better show next year.
Did you notice a few snowdrops behind ‘Augustus’? They’re all random patches of the giant snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii) and are quite a few more snowdrops than I need. It’s hard to plant new snowdrops when the spots are already filled with old snowdrops so I might have to address all the less-special clumps and their seedlings this summer. Seedlings. Don’t even get me started on seedlings. I have baby snowdrops coming up in all the wrong places, and even though every snowdrop is special your own babies are even more so which means they all need attention.
I’m guessing this is a seedling of ‘Blonde Inge’ because of the bright yellow inner petals, even though I’m not sure how a seed managed to travel the six feet between here and the mother clump. There are a few more scattered about but they lack the yellow and are just plain green. All of course should be divided and moved to spots of their own for an even better show next year.
Although it’s a good excuse, the gardener here isn’t using the on-again, off-again cool weather and snow as a reason to sit on the computer all day looking at daylily sales. He did already divide and move a few bunches of snowdrops to new locations. To be honest it amounted to about 25 minutes of work between vacuuming plaster dust and scooping ice cream, but it does fall into the work category so that’s a good thing. Take a trowel or small shovel, dig deep to avoid slicing through the deeper bulbs… which for some reason always happens anyway… tease a few bunches apart or take it down to single bulbs if you’re greedy, trowel out a new spot and shove them in at the same depth, give them a little drink to settle in. My gardener uses a water-soluble fertilizer like Miracle-Gro as the drink, but better gardeners with more ambition could work in soil amendments and organic fertilizers to start your new plantings off on a good footing.
The new stone wall will probably need rebuilding some day as a result of poor workmanship, but at least the results of the 20 minutes spent planting these snowdrops will last. I can’t wait to see them settle in for an even better show next year!
There’s snow on the ground, the year is barely off to a start, and I’m already obsessing about next year. Sounds about right. I hate to think what I would waste my time with if it weren’t for the garden, probably something silly like managing retirement investments, or monetizing a youtube channel or Ticktock feed. Who needs that, right?
Enjoy this flashback to winter, and may all your bids on your favorite daylily auction not win especially if you were counting on a lot to not win since that’s a bunch of daylilies even if you have a daylily farm to plant. Yeah 😉
sorta like suburbia 
The snowdrops look great against that stone wall. You could plant colchicums on the other side of that stone wall.
thanks! Maybe I will plant a few more colchicums there 😉
It got cold here again with no sun the past couple of days. UGH… The least Nature could do is throw some sun into this refrigerator. I love your stone wall. I would like to have one in my garden. Instead I have a stack of bricks, not so pleasant to the eye. Of course the Snow drops will help that wall settle in as you would like it.
The sunshine makes such a difference this time of year, those gloomy days get real old real fast.
Honestly I love bricks as well and wouldn’t mind a bunch stacked around… unless they’re stacked in the middle of my paths which they are 🙂
I’m envying your relative lack of snow… we got 13″ of the heavy stuff today and it still is coming down. (Our backs are not happy! We’re not as young as we used to be. What?? 😉 )
Your bulbs are all looking wonderful. Pretty soon your garden will be on THE Galanthus tour! 🙂 Too bad about the rodents eating your crocus. Same happens here, but there are always new seedlings.
Your snowdrop seeds are being propagated by ants, that is why they show up in random places. “Ants collect and carry the seeds back to their nest, eat an oil-rich appendage (the elaiosome), and discard the seed unharmed.”
I’n hoping your snow is starting to melt away as fast as it came. That’s one advantage of mid-March snow dumps! Here the mountains are still white, but here in the valley it’s nearly all gone again and I can hear the robins singing this morning.
I’m already planning the parking logistics and gift shop considerations for when this snowdrop garden opens. Maybe if I get someone to direct traffic we can get tour busses in, but I’m not sure if I should carry only snowdrop-themed clothing items or if I should expand that section to both indoor and outdoor items. So many decisions! 😉
I’m glad the ants have been busy! Who know what they have planned this summer
🙂 You can always rent tents if you need more room for the sales area. 😉
At this end of the season it can seem to drag on a little but we are distracted by the appearance of many other plants in the garden. I have a feeling I may take a strong liking to trilliums as I find our garden seems to suit them very well which is a great delight as I shied away from growing them for many many years fearing they might be difficult. A few plants from a friend changed all that as these have romped away, increasing in size year on year and self-seeding generously. It’s not all white out there! (except where there is snow, of course!)
One has to love a gardener’s optimism. It is a condition from which I myself (as opposed to I the other guy, I suppose) suffer. It is a blessing really, the thought that next year will be better. And it will! I’m counting on it. While I’m counting, don’t think I didn’t notice the theme of “even better show next year”, mentioned 6 times. Yes! I am counting on it here.
Can’t wait for our snow to melt. You have some really sizable clumps that are visible without one being right on top of them. The snowdrops by the stone wall are perfectly placed. That is going to be one lovely sight next year.
The snowdrops along the stone wall are gorgeous. Will there be daffodils there next? And then summer will arrive, and you’ll move the succulent pots out there to top off the wall? That wall is a perfect foil for so many plants!
You know, if it’s going to be an even better show next year, maybe I’ll just wait until then to come for the tour, lol! Honestly, trying to find a time to get down there is proving difficult.
Did you really get 4 inches of snow out of this last storm? I’m not sure we got even three, but it was hard to tell with the way the wind blew it all around.
PS — I’m not certain about the sincerity of your apology for all the snowdrop posts! Also, “Oh, I love them! How nice!”
It is so nice to hear how successful your snowdrop year has been as I have got a kind of inkling that you rather like them. 😜 I was shocked to hear that the rabbits have been eating your crocus though. I hope our hares don’t decide to try mine. They have made a meal of my French Broom and our young fruit trees already! I think the snowdrops look so natural next to your stone wall. I wish I had the right kind of stones lying around for such a wall, but the only rocks I uncover here are ugly clumps of old concrete fence posts or cobbles! LOL!