Thank you to all our customers for your orders this summer.
Our season finale listings on EBAY begin tonight! This is the last chance to add these varieties to your collections until summer 2023 as I will not be selling any snowdrops in the green next year.
The five very special snowdrops on offer include the three MYTHS AND LEGENDS inverse poculiforms new for 2022:
DRYAD CERBERUS adds to the pantheon of our collectors’ favourite Myths and Legends series of inverse poculiforms, and has brought many requests when I’ve shown the flower in my lectures – it is truly eye-popping!
I remember seeing the first bud, obviously containing multiple flowers, and being astonished that when it opened, each of its three flowers was perfectly formed. Immediately, it was given the name of the three-headed dog of Greek legend – DRYAD CERBERUS.
Of course, I wish I could tell you that it will do the same regularly, but although it has since had several twins, there have been no more triplets so far.
Nevertheless, even as a singleton it is a stunning plant, up to 30cm tall on sturdy stems over short plicate leaves which display the flowers well. The vigorous mature bulbs usually bear two scapes, with the flower on the secondary scape of different appearance to the primary, so you will still be getting at least two flowers for the price of one!
The outer segment mark is a beautiful deep emerald, formed from an apical inverted V, which is usually, but not always, joined to an oval zone almost reaching to the base. When fully open, the apices of the outer segments flip outwards at the sinus. The segments are of heavy texture with longitudinal corrugations. The inner segments are similarly marked.
Secondary flowers can come in many different variations, making a clump very intriguing and a real talking point.
As this is propagated by division only, there will only be a few bulbs to spare each year.
DRYAD ZEUS has been a nursery favourite since its first flowering, easily spotted amongst all its peers due to its bold streak of deep green running down the centre of the outer segments, leading to it being named after Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder in Greek mythology, well-known for sending down bolts of lightning from the heavens. This snowdrop is equally striking!
Flowering at up to 270mm high (under glass, probably shorter outside), the flowers are held on upright pedicels above arching, plicate leaves which are half the height of the pedicels at flowering time. The mark on each outer segment is a parallel sided, rich green longitudinal stripe covering the central one third of the segment, rounded towards the apex, at which there is a white notch, and fading to paler yellowish green just before reaching the base. The stripe usually has a very slight ‘waist’ halfway along, occasionally breaking into a double mark.
We will be offering multi-nosed bulbs, which increase well and will soon become an electrifying feature in your collection!
For comparison, you might like to see photos of Dryad Zeus and Dryad Demeter side by side. Zeus was bred from Wendy’s Gold x South Hayes and is easy to tell apart from Demeter, which is from Trymlet x South Hayes. Note the shapes of the outer segment marks and very different leaf habit.
You may have noticed that Zeus has a yellow as a mother, so it is worth pollinating with another yellow to see what you get!
DRYAD TERPSICHORE, named for one of the nine Muses of Greek legend, who was also the goddess of dance.
Her snowdrop has long been a favourite here due to the fluid, informal bearing of the flowers, each adopting an individual pose with slightly twisted segments giving the impression of whirling movement, skirts flaring as if they are dancing, even when there is no breeze.
The artistry continues with the outer segment mark which is a painterly ‘splash’ along the lower third of the midline, stopping short of the up-tilted apical sinus, while the inner segments bear an inverted deep green heart. The flowers are sweetly scented.
The plants are neat and compact, with upright, plicate leaves which are short at flowering time, with the large flowers borne on upright stems reaching to 20cm in height.
DRYAD BLIZZARD is the inaugural member of the brand new ‘Dryad Snow’ series of true poculiform snowdrops named for their exceptionally pristine bright white flowers.
The Blizzard lineage started in 2008, when I was generously sent seeds of a poculiform G. elwesii from Canada. When they flowered in 2013, none were poculiform, which was unfortunate but not unexpected. The seedlings were inter-crossed to produce 6 seeds. These F2 seedlings began to flower in 2017 and to my delight, the result was one perfect poculiform.
After 5 years evaluation, this has proved to be a tall and graceful beauty, growing to 30cm under glass, the leaves only half that height at flowering time. The dazzling, large flowers are in perfect proportion at 40mm long including the ovary, and open into an elegant parasol shape. A clump in flower in your garden will make a glorious and breath-taking focal point.
The final snowdrop is the intriguing GALANTHUS MELTSAS, one of the superb ESTONIAN BIRDS series of new doubles. This one is named after the Estonian for Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) Bred from a G. plicatus from Krasnodar region, Russia (with all-green inner segments) x nivalis ’Flore Pleno’ this is truly well-named for the Green Woodpecker with its green striped and tipped outer segments and heavily green-marked inners. Looking up into the flower the inner segments appear rich green with a clean, narrow white edge. The flowers have been very stable here, always with 3 outer segments and a neat, regular boss of inners.
A superb selection of DRYAD speciality true miniature daffodils takes the final curtain:
PALLENE is a flamboyant hoop petticoat with widely flaring, gently rolled back white flowers and protruding golden stamens. 15cm high, very early, and with a bonus of a delicious strong scent.
The second hoop is PANDIA with rich cream widely flaring flowers. Both of these are very early flowering and will give a beautiful, scented display under glass to raise your spirits in late winter.
The trumpet accompaniment is provided by four appealing varieties:
NARCISSUS PEACH TWIST - Something a little different! An eye-catching trumpet variety, only 12cm high with white spiralling perianth and frilly trumpet that matures to a pale peach. Often commented on by visitors.
MISS POPPY - Named after our baby granddaughter and (almost) as adorable. This little trumpet variety opens pale lemon and matures to white, often showing the whole range of colours in the pot.
Only 12 cm high grown under glass (probably shorter outside) the upright stems proudly hold their perfect little daffodil flowers above the foliage. The trumpet is prettily flared at the mouth, and the petals overlap slightly to give a good exhibition form. Early flowering.
TODDLER is a sturdy, chubby little all white daffodil flowering at 16cm under glass, probably shorter outside. The perianth overlaps gently at the base, and the rim of the corona is frilled, reminiscent of the ruffs worn in Elizabethan times. Very early flowering and a real charmer!
SWEET PETITE has been much admired at alpine shows, flowering at 10-12cm with gently nodding 3cm wide flowers, white perianth and lemon corona, and a delicious scent. A perfect little daffodil in perfect miniature!
The glistening palest lemon SWIFTLET is one of our tiniest varieties, and a long-time favourite of mine, only a few centimetres high with a sleekly swept-back perianth.
Finally, a last flourish with Brian Duncan’s multi award-winning GREAT TRY – wrongly attributed to the cyclamineus section division 6 in our last listing, when it is actually a triandrus hybrid – division 5.
Its glowing yellow and orange flowers with perfect show form will make it very popular with exhibitors.
Right – now to return my house from a packing shed to some sort of order before Jim Lad, Little Finn and Miss Poppy arrive tomorrow!
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