Garden Blog - February 2025

Our gardens in February really begin to burst into life, despite the continued risk of frosts snow and storms. Leading the charge, of course, are snowdrops.

Since ancient times, there was universal consensus with regards to the positive symbolism of humble snowdrops. Their pure white flowers were associated with innocence and purity, the way in which they delicately hang suggested modesty, and appearing during cold winter months inspired hope and fortitude. These qualities, in time, led snowdrops to be closely associated with Candlemas, a Christian festival commemorating the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary, forty days after the birth of Jesus. Unfortunately, as was the case with so many things, morbid Victorians, who were never shy of sucking the goodness out of anything uplifting, began to associate snowdrops with death and bad luck. Although negative superstition still holds sway in some quarters, the more ancient and positive view of this most humble and charming of flowers generally prevails today.

The botanical generic name for snowdrops is Galanthus, and was given by eminent Swedish botanist, Carl Linnaeus, in 1735, who described it in his Species Plantarum, published in 1753. The name Galanthus has its origins in the Greek words ‘gala’ meaning milk, and ‘anthos’ meaning flower. By far the most common snowdrop seen growing wild in Britain is Galanthus nivalis, the epithet ‘nivalis’ meaning ‘of the snow’, referring to the plant’s early flowering.

The common name ‘snowdrop’ first appears in print in a weighty tome by John Gerard titled The Herball, or, Generall Historie of Plantes, published in 1636, though it’s believed to have been in common parlance for some time before that. John Gerard was a famous herbalist and botanist in charge of several important gardens, including those of Lord Burghley and the Physic Garden at the College of Physicians. He also had his own garden in Holborn, London, in which he “grew all manner of strange trees, herbes, rootes, plants, flowers and other such rare things”.

Given the abundance of snowdrops, carpeting bare earth in both gardens and the countryside beyond, it would be easy to imagine that are native to Britain, but they’re not. Snowdrops originate from continental Europe, in a great swath stretching from the Pyrenees, through the south of France and Germany, across central Europe to Ukraine, and down through Italy and Greece.

Another rather splendid plant flowering with great vim just now is the winter aconite, or Eranthis hyemalis, as it is known to botanically minded folks. With a native range similar to that of snowdrops, this woodland dweller offers a bright display of golden yellow buttercup-like flowers, surrounded by divided leafy bracts. An efficient ground cover plant, if left undisturbed it quickly spreads to make a dramatic bold carpet of colour. Winter aconites also make perfect companion plants to snowdrops, as both are ideal for planting beneath deciduous trees and shrubs

Finally, on mild days, there are a surprising number of honeybees and bumblebees busily buzzing about our gardens at this time of year. To make their lives easier, why not provide them with food, while beautifying our gardens to boot, by planting crocus tomassinianus and grape hyacinths bulbs; along with herbaceous perennials such as hellebores; and sweetly scented flowering shrubs such as Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’, Sarcococca confusa, or one of the myriad varieties of Hamamelis?

Please come and see our great swathes of naturalised snowdrops, and specialist collection of named varieties here at Deene on Sunday, 16th February and Sunday, 23rd February.

Until next month, happy gardening.

Heleborus Orientalis	Hamamelis-mollis	Snowdrops and the House beyond