Plant of the month
Snowdrops are special. They signal the approach of spring with their
green and white freshness, and the weather simply does not bother them.
The common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) and its double form 'Flore
Pleno' is the best known and ideal for naturalising in the grass under
fruit trees. It has some lovely varieties such as 'Magnet', 'Atkinsii' and
'Sam Arnott'.
Natives of Greece, Turkey, the Crimea, the Caucasus and Romania, there
are superb species like G. elwesii, G. plicatus, and G. caucasicus.
They do well in most soils from light acid to heavy chalk. They will
tolerate a good deal of shade, preferring to be cool, and dry in the
summer.
Dry bulbs tend to fail quite often while those planted in the green
immediately after flowering, and even in flower, nearly always succeed.
