I know it’s not going to be long till they’re here. I’ve seen the advanced guard, including some in Manchester City Centre yesterday, scattered in amongst the earliest crocuses. Their white tips were still sheathed in greenery, but I’d know them anywhere.
Down south, I don’t mind betting that the snowdrops have long been out, assuming you count a week or so as ‘long’ (any flower stalker worth his or her salt knows that a week can make a big difference when it comes to catching flowers in their prime).
Still, I confess to being impatient. I’ve seen the odd clump in flower at Bodnant Gardens and Harlow Carr a couple of weeks ago, but everyone knows that snowdrops are best in huge swathes, carpeting the landscape.
I know some of my most loyal readers will sigh and tolerantly remind me that I’m one of the lucky ones – their bulbs will be buried under mounds of snow for longer than they care to remember. Snowdrops might not even grow where they’re from.
So to fill any snowdrop dearth you may be experiencing – be it brief, more lengthy or permanent – here are my earlier posts on visits to some of England’s finest snowdrop gardens: Rode Hall, Painswick Rococo Garden, and Colesbourne Park.
If you’ve been wondering, the snowdrop in the picture is one of my favourites, Galanthus ‘John Gray’. A gardener at Rode Hall once took the time to show me how, by gently opening the outer petals, you can reveal green markings in the shape of a fish. I’m passing his message along.
Please feel free to add a link to your favourite snowdrop posts in the comments below. I’m keen to enjoy snowdrops any way I can until the real ones come along.
Susan Rushton 
Love your fishy ones! I haven’t seen any this year so far, though I have a couple of gardens in mind to visit if the rain can hold off for long enough! So to keep you smiling here’s one I took last year, which you may not have seen: https://smallbluegreenflowers.wordpress.com/2017/02/09/studying-snowdrops/
Thanks for making it a snowdrop party – I did see it, but am grateful for the reminder.
I can’t believe it! You’re pretty much the same latitude as me (Ripon, Yorkshire) and I first saw them this year on January 1st: https://margaret21.com/2018/01/01/two-reasons-to-be-cheerful/. When I posted this, several southerners reported that they hadn’t arrived with them yet.
Now they are carpeting the nearby woodland hillside in their thousands. How could our experiences be so different?
Perhaps I just need to get out and about more! Our local woods don’t seem to have them, although they do have bluebells later in the year.
Bluebells? Just as good. Ahem…. we have both, though the Spanish ones seem to be becoming a touch too invasive for my liking.
That rules out my supposition that the bluebells might have crowded out the snowdrops. I share your concerns about the Spanish ones, but they are beautiful plants too. I think I wrote about that somewhere.
That snowdrop is a beauty? Need I add that there are no snowdrops yet in Maine? That we are expecting a foot of snow tomorrow? 😉
I hope you haven’t any travels planned for tomorrow then! It’s snowing here today, but just a steady sprinkling, so far at least.
Fortunately, I work from home, and my husband is retired. This means we can hunker down and not worry about slippery roads. Enjoy your snow!
That’s good. I normally would, but I’ll be driving my sweetheart to the airport early in the morning, so am not feeling quite so blasé about snow and ice as I might otherwise!
I understand. A snowstorm is only cozy if you don’t have to be out in out. Be safe! Take your time.
Yes down South they were earlier, even up on Dartmoor where they were in flower in sheltered places three weeks ago.
It must have been a delight to be able to see them at such an early stage in the year.
Oh, I am longing for flowers and especially for warm ocean… but we do not have warm ocean here….
We don’t have warm seas either. We called in at the seaside this weekend and I was thinking about the many times my sister and I swam in cold or cool seas in the summer time, mainly at Llandudno in Wales. The worst bit was getting in, but after that it was fine.
Your photo is just catching me, so beautiful, simple in its appearance, but stunning at the same time. Breathtaking. Thank you!
My pleasure! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I loved all your snowdrop photos. I had no idea there were so many different ones.
Snowdrops can be big business – so much so that galanthophiles in Britain have to think about protecting their bulbs from thieves.
Oh, my! I didn’t know that!
I don’t have snowdrops in my garden. I’ll have to look into that. Do squirrels like the bulbs?
I would guess they do. One idea is to plant bulbs under mesh to make it harder for creatures to harvest them and spoil all our fun.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to try that.
Thanks for the links, I loved revisiting your older posts and seeing them again at this time of year. The season is coming and I’m another one who is excited about that 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to look through them! You’re right, not long now!
Snowdrops are some of the first bulbs out over here too, the heralds of spring, except we see them in late August!
It’s one of the best things about flower blogging – that we can share in each other’s seasons, vicariously.
If you happen to see Six on Saturday, I posted my FIRST picture of snowdrops (almost). They are not Galanthus, but are instead Leucojum. Everyone has been showing off their galanthus, and I had nothing to show, until these Leucojum bloomed. I did not even know they were there.
Hi Tony – I rescued this comment from my spam folder. Glad some snowdrops appeared to help you overcome your personal drought. I looked for your Six on Saturday post, but could not find it.
Oh, it will be next Saturday. I just got the picture recently.
We have a lot out, but many still to bloom
I hope they are all spared from the feet of the kitchen contractors!
Many thanks, Susan. We have faith