This month the first green shoots of our Schneeglöckchen ("snow-bells") start peeking out of the ground. Eagerly awaited their flowers join the pink and white Cyclamen coum already in bloom since the end of January.
The ordinary snowdrop Galanthus nivalis has been growing in every garden and park in our climates for centuries, multiplying and thriving if undisturbed. In recent years it has had a renaissance - a true Galantho-mania has set in especially in the UK. Every garden journal seems to feature snowdrops in their February editions.
Even in Germany people have started collecting different species and cultivars. There are about twenty species and hundreds of different cultivars bred from them with imaginative names. Specialist breeders' catalogues are listing Galanthus spec. with filled or unfilled flowers, with green dots of different shapes and sizes, no dots at all or even yellow dots and sprinkles.
Some cultivars are extremely expensive, which makes us wonder whether this is a small-scale return of the tulipmania from the 17th century. A single bulb of a rare kind may be had for 12 €, which does not sound like much - however considering the risk that it might just add to the garden buffet for stray mice and might never come out of the ground ...usually one would have to plant a hundred bulbs or so for a display that makes any impression.
A beautiful pure white type "Galanthus plicatus EA Bowles" has been bought for 350 £ by a collector but this was topped recently by a fine example with a yellow ovary christened "Galanthus woronowii Elizabeth Harrison". The seed company Thompson and Morgan turned out to be the buyer of this new mutation for 725 £. At least we can be sure that they will know how to multiply the stock professionally with tissue culture without the risk of losing the thing or accidentally splitting the bulb by digging it up with a ruthless spade in autumn ....
Galanthus nivalis
As I have many litte mice living in my garden that I like to observe and sometimes tease with a water hose in summer as they feel quite at home between the borders and dry walls, I must admit we have had little success in establishing many different snow drops.
We have some examples of the filled flower Galanthus nivalis "Flore pleno" that is able to survive without extra care.
Galanthus nivalis "flore pleno"
Its flowers appeared dutifully in autumn, but I hated it then! It looked totally out of place between the other autumn colours. It gave me an unwelcome surprise with its untimeliness like having asparagus and strawberries in winter or looking at a christmas wreath in summer. The tiny pale-white flower reminded me in the midst of full autumn splendour of winter and the frugal spring awakening when I wanted to indulge in colourful interwoven moving shapes of fruit and flower and the scents of the abundance of autumn.
It is still holding out in some corner of the garden, still looking out of place, and has not multiplied.
To every thing there is a season.
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