Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Galanthus => Topic started by: KentGardener on January 27, 2008, 08:26:01 AM
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Morning All
yesterday was that time of the year where I convince my designated driver that he really wants to drive me to Gloucester and back in a day. Fortunately he said yes, and we set off for another most enjoyable day at Colesbourne Park. I wrote a full review of last years day out ( http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=233.0 ), so this year will just post some pics for your enjoyment. I know there was at least one other SRGC'er in attendance yesterday and others are planning to visit over the coming weeks, so hopefully some more pictures may be added in due course.
A Gloucester Old Spot? (just for Maggie)
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Rosemary Burnham (doing very well)
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Ding Dong
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A strange one among thousands
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Mixed Elwesii seedlings - these looked like a couple of French men to me
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I met many interesting people at Colesbourne and, of course, sang the praises of this forum so hopefully there may be some potential new posters lurking today....
regards
John
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John,
Glad we finally got a chance to meet up yesterday. Hopefully I will get the time to post some photographs later today.
See you at Glen Chantry.
David
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John,
Very nice!! That 'Rosemary Burnham' is really something isn't it? Other than on this forum I've never seen anything with anywhere near the green as that has. Very desirable!! And those little frenchmen are adorable. Another unique one I haven't come across before and would love to grow here. Beautiful!!
Thanks for taking the time to post your pics. 8)
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Hi Paul
As you liked the French men - here is a little gang that looks like they are having a right gossip!
elwesii 'Edward Whittall group'
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regards
John
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Not quite as striking as the dark markings on the main flwoer in the first one, but cute none-the-less. I don't think I've come across markings with the little eyes and mouth (or should that be eyes and moustache?) like that before, or else they haven't been so obvious and therefore I haven't noticed them. Definitely not like anything I grow, that is for sure. So many Galanthus and so little space (and quarantine restrictions too of course! ::)).
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Thanks John, some nice photos, Rosemary Burnham is getting even higher up the wants list! Any more pictures?
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Thank you John - I really enjoyed your photos. After seeing them and a little snippet about Colesbourne Park on the Beeb's 'Countryfile' programme just now, I have decided that I must get myself there in the future. The petit French men are quite enchanting - I wonder what they are chinwagging about ?
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Hi All
I have just spotted this in the newspaper on the way to work. May be of interest for anyone in London.
(though 75 varieties of snowdrop doesn't seem very large compared to todays standards)
John
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For anyone living in the London area I would strongly recommend that they take a trip up to Myddelton House in Enfield. This is E.A. Bowles' former garden and it is open to the public (but not on weekends ??? ). You can see thousands of snowdrops amongst other spring flowers and a wide range of different species and cultivars, without the distraction of labels to tell you what they are.
http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/en/content/cms/Leisure/Gardens/myddelton_house/myddelton_house.aspx
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Hi All
I have just spotted this in the newspaper on the way to work. May be of interest for anyone in London.
(though 75 varieties of snowdrop doesn't seem very large compared to todays standards)
John
just out of interest what's an 'Oyster Card' referred to in the article under the picture please??
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John,
Good postings above, great to see the photographs.
G. 'Rosemary Burnham' is certainly an excellent snowdrop.
Also, I am tempted to add a little quotation to my photograph along the lines of your one, something like this: "Every day's a school day, damn it!"
Paddy
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just out of interest what's an 'Oyster Card' referred to in the article under the picture please??
As you are probably aware, the latest fast-food craze in London (or perhaps it's a revival of an earlier craze) is the eating of oysters and oyster bars have popped up all over the capital. If you want to get a discount at these establishments you carry an 'Oyster Card'.
OR
It is a prepayment swipe card for regular travellers on the London Underground.
Choose the explanation you prefer.
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just out of interest what's an 'Oyster Card' referred to in the article under the picture please??
As you are probably aware, the latest fast-food craze in London (or perhaps it's a revival of an earlier craze) is the eating of oysters and oyster bars have popped up all over the capital. If you want to get a discount at these establishments you carry an 'Oyster Card'.
OR
It is a prepayment swipe card for regular travellers on the London Underground.
Choose the explanation you prefer.
Thanks for that Alan. A great proportion of my working life was spent travelling by train to endless meetings in London. When I retired I swore I would never visit it again and, so far, have managed not to venture past the M25. Oyster cards are a new one on me but I shan't let it worry me ;D
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Regular readers of the 'other' Visits thread (and I've forgotten where it is!) will be aware that the Nicholson family are creatures of habit. Bedrooms are always Hoovered on Thursday, loos and baths etc. cleaned on Friday, and Wednesday is day out day.
Today we visited East Lambrook Manor in Somerset with a journey of about an hour and a bit from Devon through the rolling Blackdown Hills. The Manor was the home and garden of the late Marjorie Fish and although it is not a large garden there is always something to see. We go to ELM at least three times a year and always in the early part of February to see the Snowdrops.
The Manor is currrently up for sale (at in excess of £1.6 million if I remember rightly!) and quite frankly it showed. The tea room was closed (we were told not to re-open until new owners are obtained!) and there was possibly the worst selection (and smallest selection!) of plants for sale of any garden I have ever visited. Some parts of the garden showed the need for work. Instead of our usual bowl of soup in the tea room we had to head for the pub across the road, along with all the other visitors to the garden where we waited for an hour and ten minutes for a couple of sandwiches and chips. Had I not been driving many of the real ales on sale would have been heavily sampled!
Still no matter- here are a few! pictures.
The first a shot of the Manor House, the next two views up and down the Rill that runs through the garden; a patch of Eranthis, and a couple of Snowdrops with out name tags. Others will follow in other posts.
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More East Lambrook- and all of these are Snowdrop pictures.
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Final batch. By the way 'Rs' in the title of each picture is just my way of recognising files I have re-sized for posting and are not my attempt to rename all the 'snowies'.
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Look at the ovaries swelling already in the pic of G. White Wings..... I see some of the flowers are going over but the clump looks fairly fresh but there have obviously been some pollinators about.
The house has been on the market a while.....perhaps it it the thought of paying that much for somewhere that is expected to be open to the public..... £1.6 m is a lot to pay for a little business!!
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The house has been on the market a while.....perhaps it it the thought of paying that much for somewhere that is expected to be open to the public..... £1.6 m is a lot to pay for a little business!!
It's a bargain Maggi, you get all the snowdrops for free then.
Sell them on E-bay and even some profit is looking round the corner. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Martin its always nice to see these plants in old gardens. Thank you.
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Luit, you are such an entrepreneur ! 8)
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...It's a bargain Maggi, you get all the snowdrops for free then.
Sell them on E-bay and even some profit is looking round the corner. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Say you could get ebay inflated prices of £20 per bulb, that's still 80,000 bulbs you need to sell on ebay to recoup your £1.6m! Thats an awful lot of trips down the garden and then down the post office! If you sold 10 bulbs a day, every day throughout the year, it would take you 8,000 days or about 22 years.
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Hmmm! But your local Post Office would be glad of the business, eh? ;)
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And it would keep you out of the pub..... and save a lot of money over the first year again. ;)
You see I'm used to count my coins. ::) ::)
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Maggi,
You and my wife has something in common. When I read your comment on the price of the house - and then to have to open it to the public I felt I was hearing an echo from Mary in the armchair in the corner here. It seems that £1.6 million doesn't buy you privacy. Though if one had that money to spend I'm sure a high wall and strong gates would not be beyond the budget. Personally, I would add barbed wire to the top of the wall and several dogs inside the gate.
Paddy
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An Englishman's home may be his castle, but it looks like the Irish and the Scots are the ones pulling up the drawbridge! :o
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And I'd nail it up.
Paddy
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No need, Paddy, they'll never get across the shark infested moat ::)
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Yeah, I suppose you're right.
Having friends visit is a great pleasure as is visiting friends but the thought of the general public coming to my garden gives me the shivers. Yeeeuuuuuuggggggghhhhhh
Paddy
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no coffee shop! I was looking forward to coffee and a slice on arrival on Friday. Are the gardeners there?
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What a great two weeks this is turning out to be for seeing snowdrops. As mentioned before, last week was a visit to Phil Cornish, followed by Colesbourne Park.
Yesterday, the sun shone after an utterly wet and miserable few days, and the driver and I headed off to Essex. Thanks to Brian Ellis, we were in the fortunate few who had tickets for a charity opening at Glen Chantry (Wickham Bishops, Essex) in aid of the Alpine Garden Society. This wonderful garden, on a 3 acre West facing site, has been developed by Wol and Sue Staines since 1976. Glen Chantry is usually open for visitors from April to September and has a well stocked, and reasonable priced, plant nursery on site.
Although we got stuck in a mile long queue to get through the Dartford Tunnel Thames crossing, we still managed to arrive at our destination thirty minutes in advance of the scheduled 13.30 opening, there was plenty of parking available on site. It was now time to enter our second queue of the day. This one was forming at the gate to the garden and consisted of a well wrapped and friendly bunch of plants people. Wol said we must all be suffering from white fever as he hadn’t seen so many people queuing outside his garden in the last 30 years.
(KentGardener returning from a wander, with Glen Chantry behind)
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As the gate opened we all walked (not ran!) to two polly tunnels that had been set aside for the sale of snowdrops. The main target for most, was the tunnel containing Sue and Wol’s surplus snowdrops at one end and Rod and Jane Leeds snowdrops at the other. Mr and Mrs Staines have been growing snowdrops for at least 30 years and are keen on ‘twin scaling’. This process is the only way they could get enough plants to fill their huge garden. Fortunately for us they had decided to do something they do not usually do – and that was sell a limited amount to us as very reasonable prices.
I, myself, poked my head into this, the most popular tunnel and turned straight around – there were people at least 4 deep at the sales table – a little too frantic for me. Instead, I headed into the other tunnel which had been allocated to Joe Sharmon and found myself buying a couple of rather nice plants: Trym which I have been after for years, and a Yellow plicatus called Madelaine.
(A view of a border)
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What a treat we had in store: it was now time for the garden (and for the driver, CAKE(s)). There are snowdrops everywhere you look and at least 95% are in large clumps. I started by wandering around with Brian Ellis and our two ‘drivers’, but soon found myself befriended by some ‘lurkers’ of this forum. The lurkers in question were Cliff Curtis, his wife and daughter. A nicer family one couldn’t hope to meet. Cliff and his daughter were extremely knowledgeable on Galanthus (and for those admiring ‘Peardrop’ on another thread, it was Cliff who originally found this plant which he informs me that it is highly scented). Brian and David wandered away to take photographs (hopefully to be posted here soon?….) and my long suffering driver Ian, having had his fill of snowdrops in the first 30 minutes headed straight for the tea and cakes; to have his fill of them too! :)
After another half an hour I headed back to Wol and Sue’s sales tunnel to find the thronging mass had somewhat dissipated. The stock available was obviously diminished but there were still some very nice plants to be found. I purchased a ‘David Baker’ for £20 and the lady next to me was pleased to find ‘Pride O the Mill’ at £15. I wonder what other beauties were available for this who had the elbows to venture in at the start?….
I hope you have enjoyed my brief account of the day and with luck, some of the other SRGC’ers in attendance (Brian Ellis, David Quinton, Alan_B and a good few others I am sure) will post their own pictures soon.
(Cicely Hall)
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(Pride o' the Mill)
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I know that Wol and Sue have said that this was a one off event - but I do so hope I get the chance to visit Glen Chantry again during the snowdrop season.
John
p.s. Hopefully I may get the chance to post some more pictures at lunchtime - best I do some work now!
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Great start, John.
The garden views are excellent. It's obvious that Mr. and Mrs. Staines have a very high standard of maintenance. Even my wife would compliment those trimmed edges to the lawns.
I'm sure you also found also that Wol was the kind of person who would make your visit very enjoyable. He is a very pleasant person, great chatter and perfectly as ease with his successes and failures.
Looking forward to your follow-up postings and those from the other visitors and you might even have convinced Cliff Curtis and family to join us on the forum. Such an enthusiast would be very welcome.
Paddy
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Paddy, I agree wholeheartedly.
Beautifully kept garden and wouldn't it be nice if the Curtis Family, and others, joined us?! 8)
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Thanks John for posting the photos of your visit to such a lovely garden.
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John
Thanks for showing Glen Chantry and some of the snowdrops. I took my mother (93) and spent rather a long time in the tea house. My 2 friends said they would return after seeing and phoographing the garden, so that I could have a viewing. With so much to see they came back at 3.15 Your photos make up the gaps.
Like you I hope that Wol & Sue can be persuaded to open the garden again at Snowdrop time. I was lucky a few years back when by chance I had some Crocus for them and delivered them mid February. Wol kindly gave me a guided tour of the Snowdrops and lunch - heaven.
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John, these are the mostly interesting postings (i.e. for me). We as being overseas don't have many chances to come into these gardens. You told about your visit and it was as if I was there myself.
Go on please, and other plant pictures are welcome too.
Luit
This is the 3rd time I tried to send a post.
Many people online posting at the moment ;D
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OK, a few more pictures as promised. Not the best ones I have ever taken - but should give more idea of how lovely Glen Chantry was.
(A view showing some more borders)
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(the view looking out from the garden)
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(Crocus and Galanthus in the grass with the car park behind)
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(Drifts in a border)
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('Bertam Anderson')
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('Bunch')
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('Ray Cobb')
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('Daphnes Scissors')
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('White Swan')
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regards
John
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John
Many thanks for the latest images. If you have time can you load some more - I am sure there must be more, after all you were there for two hours.
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I'm looking forward to your photographs as you will show the garden from another person's viewpoint. Don't overdo the snowdrops now!
Paddy
And lastly from me, especially for Paddy - some non-snowdrop photographs taken at Glen Chantry.
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regards
John
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Well wasn't it a good visit, nice to meet fellow forumists in the flesh too. how anyone had time for tea and three slices of cake I don't know Ian! ::)
Although now I come to think of it I was probably too busy jawing to people to get to the tea. I hope these aren't too repetative, and again they are a bit iffy photos but I was interested to see what made up to good clumps and what didn't, perhaps most obvious to me was Trym (three bulbs) and Trymlet which had lovely clumps. There were quite a few treasures near the tearoom which is probably why I got distracted. These included Helen Tomlinson and Hector's Oddity.
Just for a change a picture of the White Garden!! with a wire netting sculpture and drifts of snowdrops.
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John
Many thanks for the latest images. If you have time can you load some more - I am sure there must be more, after all you were there for two hours.
Sorry Arthur - after editing, that is everything I have worthy of posting.
John
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Amazing. I was there 2 hours and completely missed that White Garden and sculpture! I must have been looking down at the ground too much ::)
John
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A few others taken round the top gardens. There were wonderful clumps of Erway with the distinctive olive coloured ovary. Cicely Hall was spotted around the garden in small clumps, Bill Clarke too good not to miss. Fanny (who was she I wonder?), Heffalump - who was Primrose Warburgs husband, Sentinal, a fine upstanding snowdrop (thank you David ;)), Sibbertoft Manor and South Hayes...more to come later, but better quality.
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You should have gone past the loos John! In the Summer this is a wonderful spot.
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I was undecided on whether to post this picture as it seems a bit blurred - but as Brian has mentioned 'trym' - here is a small clump of it!
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John
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Well thanks John, that just goes to prove you can spend hours in the garden and still miss things (as well as the cake).
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Wol, Sue, Rod and Jane are avid twinners and it shows.
So what goodies were for sale
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I got there about 15 minutes after opening and the scrum in the sales tents was just dieing down (so I missed all the goodies). I'm told it had been pretty rough in there. I did spot a forum member carrying three or four plastic bags who said he had quite inadvertently managed to be first in line.
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I am sure you have most of them Mark ;), but just for you: Wol was selling
alleni, Anglesey Abbey, Armine, Ballerina, Bertram Anderson, David Baker, Bill Bishop, Blewbury Tart (also available behind the bike sheds, thanks John! ;D), Blond Inge, Bungee, Byzantinus ex Warham, Comet, Curly, Daphne’s Scissors, Diggory, Ding Dong, Erway, Fenstead End, Fieldgate Superb, Forge Double, G71, Galatea, Gerard Parker, Greenish, Green Necklace, Grumpy, Heffalump, Hill Poe, Imbolc, John Gray, Jessica, Kite, Lapwing, Little Ben, Maidwell L, Mighty Atom, Modern Art, Mrs Thomson, Percy Picton, Pride o’ the Mill, Primrose Warburg, Rodmarton, Sentinel, Sibbertoft Magnet, Sibbertoft Manor, Sibbertoft White, St Annes, Three Ships, Washfield Colesbourne, Wendy’s Gold, White Swan.
The largest number available of any of them was 5 :-\ as they were listed as just Sue’s spares, however I am pleased to say that there were some more available from round the back ;Dwhich were perhaps a little past their best...until next year!
Rod Leeds had a fair selection as did Joe Sharman. The sales tables were busy and there were a lot of satisfied customers.
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fingers crossed for next year. I have many of those but I always buy extras to keep single bulbs happy with a friend
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You may have to cross more than fingers for next year Mark, this was reputedly a one off. Private visits only presumably in the future.
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And here, from the photographer and driver of the house, some pictures that overcome the sun etc which my point and shoot didn't! Thank you David ;)
First some that fits Wols premise:
"It pays, as we did, to serve your apprenticeship growing the established varieties that have proved garden worthy over time"
Tried and trusted Maidwell L and good old Comet, for the lovers of yellow snowdrops Primrose Warburg is probably a must have.
To relieve the whiteness ;D Katherine Hodgkin, she is a stunner isn't she?
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As we had Penelope Ann in the car with us here is a nice clump showing her off!
Marjorie Brown which has a blue cast to its leaves, Little Ben which makes a lovely clump of large flowers on short scapes (so I had to have one ::) ), Jonathan - quite similar to Grumpy, John Tomlinson which has olive-green markings, Jessica which is one of the finest green tipped elwesii, Bill Bishop - another large flowered 'drop which, when fully open is very elegant, Bertram Anderson and finally Ballerina. That's the lot you may all breathe a sigh of relief Maggi :-*
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Brian, I noticed you spelt Marjorie in Marjorie Brown the conventional way. In the visit I made to East Lambrook yesterday it was spelt differently (see picture below) which I took from the plant label. I had assumed it was just an unconventional spelling of the name. Mind you people in Devon have never rated the educational achievements of the Somerset people ;D
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Brian, David (your driver) certainly takes a good photo - you can see straight away that it is not a point and shoot like mine. Really nice.
John
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I'm enjoying all these photos, just sorry camouflaged Ian got all the cake :-\
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Brian,
You have an exceptional memory or must have taken notes while there. Otherwise, I cannot imagine how you could recall such a list of plants for sale - or was there a list available? And thank you, and John, for the photographs; great clumps and drifts of snowdrops really show off the plants at their very best; such a contrast to the miserly clumps (term used loosely) in the photographs at East Lambrook.
I spoke to Wol Staines this morning and he was delighted with the day though still in shell shock and exhausted as they had not expected such a large number of people to visit. They also, obviously after talking to SRGC members, commented that it was a group of knowlegable enthusiasts - who else would come to visit a garden in the winter? - and that it had been a true pleasure to speak to so many people who were obviously keen gardeners and plantspeople.
The garden is opening for another day shortly.
Paddy
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Brian, I noticed you spelt Marjorie in Marjorie Brown the conventional way. In the visit I made to East Lambrook yesterday it was spelt differently (see picture below) which I took from the plant label.
David I merely did the same as you and copied the label, however Sue's label agrees with the Snowdrop Book which Rob is obviously going to buy (see thread elsewhere!)
Paddy, Of course it was my exceptional memory enabling me to copy it off the list that Wol gave us whilst we waited (patiently) until 1.30 - to the minute- when we were allowed in. It's good to hear it is opening again shortly - is this still in Snowdrop season? I hope you enjoyed the clump of Pride o'the Mill, it is certainly a very good snowdrop.
Brian
Brian
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As we had Penelope Ann in the car with us here is a nice clump showing her off!
Brian - I think I know who you are talking about but don't let ANYONE dare call her Penelope in public :o
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I just looked up the weather forecast for the weekend. Double figures every day = snowdrops open, yes!
Is anyone going to the Est Lambrook day?
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Brian,
To be honest, I didn't take great note of when the garden was opening again just that it was in the near future.
'Pride o' the Mill' certainly makes a good clump/looks very well in a clump.
Waiting to hear what you bought! Yes, very nosey. You too John.
Paddy
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Brian - I think I know who you are talking about
I don't think we'd dare Tony, perhaps we should try it at the next meeting and then duck! ;D
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Right these are definitely the last ones of Glen Chantry, a few general shots courtesy of David who will take pictures without the labels!! These include another statue from the White garden and a crocus just to show we are interested in other things ;D
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sorry, ran out of space!
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Wonderful pictures for all of us that didn't go...............THANK YOU!!!
Mike :)
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You are most welcome Mike, I have just been told off as the ones that were taken without labels didn't have any. Sorry. I was keen to get these up as I think there may be others from a different garden posted later by the wandering camouflaged galanthophile. :D
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Brian, that white Crocus doesn't look like the standard white vernus "Jeanne D'Arc".
Do you have name for that one?
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Sorry Thomas I don't know, and there was no name to be seen. Many of the beds are quite large and we were all under strict instructions (kindly given) to keep our feet off the beds so perhaps one of you croconuts will be able to identify it. Here's the phot from which it was cropped if that helps at all.
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This crocus looks like the white form of crocus tommasinianus that Mark posted recently. I certainly have a similar form with creamy outers and purple flecked inner petals.
Brian - how many other members of our AGS group have snowdrops named after them?
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Tony, I think you're right! In the second photo the leaves do no longer look like vernus.
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Tony, I think she may be a one-off although of course there is the Norfolk Blonde! I think you are right with the identification as here is the lable (wonders of digital photography it was just a speck in the original photo!!) enjoy the cemetery, I hope the drifts are as wonderful as last year.
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Anyone interested in downloading a 5 minute Quicktime slideshow of Glen Chantry's Snowdrops can do so at
http://idisk.mac.com/band1-Public?view=web
Best done if you have broadband, otherwise it could take some time.
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Great pics. Thanks for taking the time and effort to load them for us to enjoy.
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Friday Part One:
My Snowdrop viewing fortnight carries on apace. The driver has been heard muttering “you do realise that I will have driven over 1000 miles this month to see your bloody Snowdrops!” (Note to self: I must remember to put extra cakes in today’s packed lunched). You may have read a posting from Alan_B a few weeks ago giving details of how one can view the private collection of snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey. Each day the National Trust issue 50 tickets for the ‘private tour’ – these are quickly reserved early in the day, so we were most fortunate that Alan_B offered to go early and obtain 3 tickets for us.
Friday morning we found ourselves crossing the River Thames into Essex for the second time in three days. However, for once there was no queue on the A2 road, no queue for the tunnel, no queue on the M25 motorway and no queue on the M11 motorway. All in all, we made it to Cambridge, our destination, in the record time of 1 hour 30 minutes. As we were there so early we started the day by driving down a country lane in search of wild populations of Snowdrops. We spotted many small clumps in hedgerows and stopped at a few places to look.
(KentGardener Galanthus Spotting)
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(a pheasant who was not very well camouflaged - a bit like me!)
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It surprised us how common snowdrops appeared to be in Cambridgeshire (for some reason it is seldom that we see them as much where we live in Kent). After a few miles we met a very nice lady walking her dogs who gave us directions to a place she called ‘Primrose Wood’. This was a beautiful area consisting of woodland, fields, rivers and a lake. There were large populations of nivalis Flore Pleno covering the clearings and river banks.
(Double nivalis)
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(Winter Aconites)
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Two hours passed very quickly ambling along pathways and admiring the vast carpets of Winter Aconites, Double Snowdrops and occasionally single nivalis. As we got deeper into the woodland, I almost jumped out of my skin as I narrowly avoided stepping on a pheasant that made a VERY loud protest at my descending boot!
(Fallen Tree)
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(Woodland Clearing)
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(House on the lake)
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(Swanlake?....)
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(KentGardener having a closer inspection)
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John
....to be continued....
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Friday Part Two:
We left Primrose Wood and headed out to Anglesey Abbey. On route I spotted snowdrops in a Churchyard, but alerted the driver too late to stop. He could tell by my down turned mouth that I would have liked to have a quick wander around (and luckily for me, he had not yet overdosed on snowdrops). A mile up the road, a quick 360 degrees of a roundabout was made and I was allowed 15 mins to wander amongst the gravestones.
(Quy Church)
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(a photo in the style of Paddy)
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(a few general shots)
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(A simple wooden cross)
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(Gargoyle drainage pipe)
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John
...to be continued....
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John
What camera do you have? I think I remember you saying it was a point and shoot - surely not with the quality of the wonderful shots - and we have not even reached Anglesey Abbey.
More please
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Friday Part Three:
It was now time to meet Alan_B at Anglesey Abbey.
(Anglesey Abbey)
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The driver and I arrived at 1.15pm to find both sections of the main car park were completely full. We were directed to the other end of Lode village, and the overflow car park. It was then a brisk 5 minute walk back to the entrance. We asked one of the gardeners if there was perhaps a special event happening and he informed us the crowds were all there to see the snowdrops! Entry to the gardens costs £4.00 (free for National Trust members) – The limited tickets for the private tour are free – but strictly limited to 50 per day.
The tour starts by proceeding along the ‘woodland walk’, designed to have plants of winter interest and culminating in a fantastic grove of Birch trees (and yes, the gardeners do wash the trunks to keep them looking so good!) We then proceeded through a gateway into some light woodland, past a watermill house, along the feeder pond and arrived at a large roped off area.
(Birch Trees)
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(walk to the 'specials')
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All of the preceding parts of Anglesey Abbey gardens are open to visitors. At this point we had to give in our tickets to enter the ‘special snowdrop’ area. Somehow we had managed to pick up 4 ticket-less people along the way who now found their way blocked – you can’t blame them for trying!
Our small group were given a quick history of the special snowdrops by our gardening guide. A quick summary is that many trees had to be felled following Dutch Elm disease. Galanthus had been grown at Anglesey Abbey, for Apothecary reasons, for hundreds of years. Suddenly all these Galanthus, that had been quietly breading over many years, found themselves growing in a near perfect environment. Among these plants was found a particularly nice specimen which was named as ‘Galanthus Anglesey Abbey’. So many people wanted to grow this in their own collection that many swaps were arranged and the varieties in the collection grew. Even now, Anglesey Abbey are adding to their collection by swapping with other growers.
(our small group)
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(our gardening guide explaining how to spot the difference between different types of snowdrop - using Magnet as an example)
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Do please let me know if you have had enough of my wanderings or whether you would like to hear what we got up to on Saturday.
regards
John
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Don't stop, whatever you do!
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And now (at long last I hear you groan) pictures of the special snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey:
(a couple of shots showing the 'gulley' with gently sloping sides where the specials are growing)
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('Augustus')
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(Bloomer)
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(Anglesey Abbey - the more desireable Proculiform type)
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(Henrys White Lady)
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(Rodmarton?)
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(My favourite of the day - 'Kirtlington Tower' - has anyone seen this for sale anywhere? Please PM if you have)
EDIT:
(My favourite of the day - 'Kirtling Tower' - has anyone seen this for sale anywhere? Please PM if you have)
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(Magnet)
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Hope you enjoyed my account of our trip to Anglesey Abbey - please let me know if you want me to post about the day we spent yesterday in Hampshire?....
John
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Keep going John,
Paddy
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John
What camera do you have? I think I remember you saying it was a point and shoot - surely not with the quality of the wonderful shots - and we have not even reached Anglesey Abbey.
More please
Hi Arthur - it is just a FujiFilm FinePix S 5600. I think it was about £130 last in late 2006 (or early 2007)
John
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The last few from Anglesey Abbey, I promise!.....
(KentGardener and Alan_B)
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(something for the non Galanthophiles among us)
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(Part of the newly created Woodland Walk - give it 5 years and I think this alone would be worth a trip to Anglesey Abbey)
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The gardeners try to remove all the name labels from the snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey - so here are some that I am not 100% sure of the names:
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I think enough time has been spent sitting in front of this laptop - so now time for some gardening!...
John
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The gardeners try to remove all the name labels from the snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey - so here are some that I am not 100% sure of the names:
Do not understand why they would do that. One of the joys of Glen Chantry for non-galanthophiles was the use of discreet labels.
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The without-a-label yellow is most likely Primrose Warburg, but could possibly be Spindlestone Surprise (although that's less frequently seen as a large clump as still rarer). The big flowers in the second pic looklike Gerard Parker. Dunno about the bottom one. I expect the rarer ones may have labels removed as an anti-theft thing.
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That clump of Augustus at Anglesey Abbey is an incredibly large and robust one, and apparently virus-free. I have a small clump of a virus-free stock from Ron Mackenzie but it's not as big and strong as that (although it's just started flowering after chipping so may get bigger - I should feed it).
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Thanks John for your photographic trip to Anglesey Abbey, excellent photos and most enjoyable. One point to note is that it is Kirtling Tower present home of Lord and Lady Fairhaven. The snowdrop was found there by none-other than Richard Ayres (ex head gardener at Anglesey Abbey and now I believe a NT gardens consultant) who laid out the grounds for Lady Fairhaven. When we went they had just discovered that there was a large population of Tulipa sylvestris there which had been mown down for years and never allowed to flower. Also in clearing the moat they discovered many historic Daffodils.
Well John that was a real treat, what about Brandymount?? ;)
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One point to note is that it is Kirtling Tower present home of Lord and Lady Fairhaven.
Thanks Brian - edited to correct spelling. Where can I get one? ;D
Well John that was a real treat, what about Brandymount?? ;)
It took over 2 hours this morning to edit photos and write up the Cambridge trip. I need to wait until Ian's back is turned before I can start on Brandy Mount.
cheers
John
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Beautiful and very interesting pictures John. These drifts with double Galanthus, never seen it here.
How you show Galanthus in the "Countryside" I like them really. (But no reason for me to become a Galanthophile.)
The tour starts by proceeding along the ‘woodland walk’, designed to have plants of winter interest and culminating in a fantastic grove of Birch trees (and yes, the gardeners do wash the trunks to keep them looking so good!)
Seeing the woodland walk with birchtrees I had to think of when we were in Scotland, someone (sorry Im not telling the name!) told us after my wife asked how a birchtree came to such a white bark, we were told it had just been washed before. My wife still not believes it!
Thank you John.
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We were fortunate enough to visit two gardens on Saturday, well one garden and one ex garden! The second of the two was the one time home of Hayrick Greatorex who bred the famous Shakesperean Doubles. He lived in a ramshackle wood and corrugated iron bungalow at the bottom of a 9 acre garden (owned by his wife’s family) and his sister in law sometimes lived in an old railway carriage there! There is now just one acre of the garden left which had surrounded this bungalow and it is owned by Broadland District Council and cared for by local volounteers, prominent among whom is Richard Hobbs.
It was Richard who kindly took us to see the Greatorex ‘garden’, now left much to its own devices it is sensitively maintained as a woodland and in the summer is a patch of stinging nettles. We travelled down a long lane and arrived at a locked gate. The only evidence of former habitation was a clay pipe about 18” high. There was a small natural pond on this gently sloping site and the snowdrops had been very much left to their own devices, and had done what they do naturally, resulting in some interesting crosses. There was a small natural pond on this gently sloping site. First some general shots.
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Wandering round we spotted all sorts of snowdrops, round the pond were many ikariae, there were also woronowii, nivalis and plicatus - but no elwesii and there are quite a few flowers which, like scharlockii have split spathes. One or two looked like Greatorex doubles and there were a few which had double heads on rather thick scapes, we had a fascinating time wandering around and spotting crosses and variations. I hope you enjoy these pictures.
For more information on Heyrick Greatorex you can read Richard’s article in the current Daffodils, snowdrops and tulips yearbook.
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...and some of the green tipped ones. Thanks to David for the photography but most of all Richard for letting us go there.
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Brilliant!
Thanks Brian, what a great place to visit - and very interesting.
regards
John
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Brian
When you cannot get to see these gardens it is great to have forum members taking time to share their experiences.
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Thanks to John and Brian for a tremendous set of pictures.
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When you cannot get to see these gardens it is great to have forum members taking time to share their experiences.
I am sure Arthur, that John is as happy as I to share our visits, especially with those members of the forum interested in snowdrops ;) and who are too far away to visit themselves. I was particularly aware that there might be interest in the Greatorex 'garden' which is not generally open to the public, and hopefully complements Richards article.
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When you cannot get to see these gardens it is great to have forum members taking time to share their experiences.
As someone who will never visit these places, it is a HUGE delight to be able to share through these virtual visits... my grateful thanks to all of you for taking the time to prepare these displays for us. :-* :-*
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Saturday Part One:
Hopefully I haven’t bored you too much with my 2008 Galanthus ‘Blog’.
Saturday morning found me being ‘Mr Unpopular’ and waking the driver at 6am… AGAIN… (don’t worry, he made up for it and stayed in bed until 11am on Sunday!). Today’s destination was Hampshire – a quick whiz round the M25, a 10 minute tea break in the woodland cafe opposite RHS Wisley, and then down the A3 to Petersfield. We were starting the day by visiting my friend, Tim Brock, who is waiting to hear if he has received National Plant Collection status for his garden full of Asplenium Scolopendrium varieties.
From Petersfield it was an easy 20 minute drive to Alresford, and the home of Michael Baron, our main port of call. Michael has the UK NCCPG National Plant Collection of Galanthus in his 1 acre garden located in the centre of town! (So lucky!) We were attending one of Brandy Mount House’s three public open days during February.
(Do you recognise the building from Mark’s mysterious photograph in the Galanthus thread? The building no longer has the large greenhouse/conservatory on the back as that was removed a few years ago)
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(A quick one for the non galanthophiles)
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(what’s that down there?)
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The garden has a good rich soil laying on a chalk base so dries out quickly in the Summer, making it ideally suited to growing bulbs. There were many large clumps of snowdrops in almost every bed and border. Michael has also set a few other areas of his garden aside especially for Galanthus. In the vicinity of his vegetable patch there is a rather nice raised bed with open sided glass cold frame for growing new acquisitions away from the main collection. This bed has specially mixed soil and the snowdrops are planted spaced out with other alpines in between. The idea is to try and make less of a meal for the dreaded narcissus fly, that have munched their way through some nice plants in recent years, and also to study the snowdrops garden worthiness. It was here that I found myself taking the most photographs.
(Mordred)
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(Margery Fish)
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(Sharlockii Selina Cords)
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There is a raised bed of sand in another part of the garden that all brand new plants are placed in until Michael is certain that he will not be introducing any infections into his collection.
We were very fortunate in that Michael was willing to spend quite a bit of his time giving us a tour of his favourite plants and sharing some of his experiences on the subject of Galanthus.
(Kentgardener, Michael Baron, and Tim Brock)
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(Going in for a close-up photo)
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Upon leaving Brandy Mount we returned to Petersfield for a spot of home cooking (a rather yummy rustic vegetable stew served with a couscous, pine nut and rocket salad, and fresh olive and garlic bread (I am salivating just from the memory!)) before we headed out for a long walk where we encountered a surprising number of snowdrops!
……….to be continued…………
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Some more random photographs taken at Brandy Mount before I continue with the rest of our Saturday:
(Dodo Norton)
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(Big Boy)
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(Bushmills)
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(Curly)
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(Green tipped woronowii)
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(Little Drip)
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(Moya's Green - the photo doesn't show how lovely the lime green colour was)
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(Trym)
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(Trymlet)
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(South Hayes)
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John
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and just a few more:
(deserving a closer inspection by John and Tim)
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(a few clumps that I didn't write the names down)
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(SilverWells)
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(Primrose Warburg)
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(you've heard of 'Grumpy' - I think these should be called 'Sad' - especially the one on the right!)
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(and the biggest surprise of Brandy Mount - Frog spawning already!)
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John
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Great post John, thanks for all these garden visits
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Hi John, fantastic photos again! You really are getting round these gardens, I'm most put out that I live so far away!
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John
Thanks again for another set of magnificent photos. Maybe next year I will get a chance to visit Brandy Mount
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Spot on John ;D
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Saturday Part Two:
We needed to walk off our substantial lunch, so decided to start the afternoon with a visit the local ‘arts and crafts’ church (hence the prayer cushions in the other thread - sorry David, I didn't think to say one for you - but will definitely do so if I return). This is a lovely little building that has a wood shingle clad spire.
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In total we visited three churches on Saturday afternoon and I shall not give too many details here, but instead shall just post some pictures from the enjoyable 3 hours spent wandering among the gravestones. (truth to tell; I think I have spent long enough struggling over what to type in the last week – there will be one more part to my Saturday Blog, but that may well be the last for this year… unless there is renewed interest in hearing more?…..)
(Sunny Day = Happy Bee!)
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(Church Wall Base)
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(snowdrops on grave)
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(gentle slope)
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(speading snowdrops)
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(Simple Cross)
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John
....to be continued...
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Saturday Part Three:
The day ended with a visit to possibly the most wonderful and serene spot in Hampshire. It is a place that you would never stumble across by accident, a simple monastery located way up a narrow lane. The monks own most of a large hill covering many many acres complete with fields, outbuildings, rivers, waterfall, a lake and of course snowdrops! We were lucky in that my friend attends mediation classes so we were allowed to wander the grounds.
(The building)
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(an outside prayer area - with my driver in the orange jacket!)
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(a close-up of 1 of 4 doors in the above marble sculpture)
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(a large Buddha surrounded by snowdrops)
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(an open area)
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(Tim and John searching for anything different)
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(a small personal shrine)
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(a large bronze Buddha)
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(birch tree and sleeping sculpture)
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John
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the last few from the monastery:
(ducks flying over the Monk's lake at dusk (or is that geese?....))
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(Stunning tree roots)
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(Blechnum)
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(Tim Brock: has he found something new?...)
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and there finishes our weekend visits.
Tomorrow is a visit to the RHS February show in London (I have taken pictures there before and they usualy turn out rubbish - I think it is the lack of light inside versus my camera flash). Next weekend I am hoping that I may visit a private collection located in the suburbs of London. I don't intend to post unless there is an appetite for my continued ramblings?....
regards
John
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John, keep posting it's very interesting for those of us who can't get out there as much as we would like!!!
I'm going to try and take some pictures at the RHS tomorrow as well!
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Canada Geese
What a day you had.
I'm thinking next year all the forum members into Galanthus should have a get together. Would you fancy three great gardens in N Ireland or I come your way?
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John
An appetite for more, I am ravenous
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Yes, keep going, John. Very enjoyable.
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I'm going to try and take some pictures at the RHS tomorrow as well!
Remember to say hello! Perhaps we should wear red/ pink/ orange carnations?.... or snowdrops in our lapels?.... When I saw Joe Sharmon at Glen Chantry he said he will be wearing an interesting buttonhole again this year.
As I said before - I will be the Eastenders Phil Mitchell lookalike probably dressed in black security style clothing - say Hi!
John
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Or run the other way! ;D "yer name's not down yer not gettin' in"
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John
An appetite for more, I am ravenous
Would you eat Canada geese? :-\
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Fantastic photo's John, i wish i had the opportunity to make such a photo's here in Holland.
We dont have such a beautiful locations like you have over there.
I still have a question, when i look at you on the photos, you must have been embedded in operation Snowdrop Storm haven't you?
It remembers at the time i did my service in 1987 in germany Bergenhohne, but your clothing is from a more recent datum isn't it. I was one of that crazy dutch truckdrivers that passed every collone on the pantzerringbahn at topspeed (125 kmh)
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I don't intend to post unless there is an appetite for my continued ramblings?....
You know us better than that surely John? Some great photos, I feel a weekend in Hampshire coming on next Spring. It's good to have the mix of photos too. Many thanks ;) ;) ;)
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I'm thinking next year all the forum members into Galanthus should have a get together. Would you fancy three great gardens in N Ireland or I come your way?
I am seriously considering spending a long weekend up in Maggi's neck of the woods in early 2009. Not yet sure if me and the driver could cope with the cooler temperatures up there, being the soft Southerners that we are.
John
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Dont book anything until I confirm a Scottish event for next February. Someone I know from N Ireland might be giving a lecture on snowdrops or his bulbs. I wouldnt go as far north as Maggi and Ian, sorry Maggi and Ian, but stay around the border. But do go and visit them while in Scotland.
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I visited Howick Hall in Northumebrland at the weekend for the snowdrop walk. There are very few gardens open in my region that I know of so this was a real treat. Fabulous drifts of mainly single nivalis with a few choice elwesii types here and there. It was a glorious sunny day too which encouraged the flowers to open. A great day!
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John.... you wuss... I can provide an electric blanket for Southern Softies! And enough cake to keep your driver occupied!!
Seriously, further south than us is better for more gold old snowie gardens.... not to say you couldn't risk a trip to the frozen north sometime just to prove that those camouflage outfits are not just for show ::) :-*
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Ann, I have heard lots before from friends about Howick hall... seems its a good place to visit at just about any season, eh?
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Ann
I had a lovely yellow nivalis called 'sandersii ex Lowick' which I presume came from there. Unfortunately it succumbed to virus this year and now lives in my parents garden (which has a lot more space for the infirm). It still is a very strong colour despite the ugly leaves.
Did they have a sales area?
Regards
John
D'oh!!!
My dyslexia strikes again! I read Howick as Lowick!
Please ignore my post!
John
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Tuesday Part One:
This could well be the last of my Galanthus ‘blog’ for 2008 (unless I find somewhere to visit this coming weekend – any offers?). Firstly I wish to start by apologising for the quality of the photographs. As the show is held inside I had to use the flash on my camera which is something I am not used to.
Yesterday I finished work in the London office early and headed over to Victoria and the RHS halls. It was the second monthly show of the year – and usually the best for seeing snowdrops. I arrived at midday to find the halls heaving with people, many of whom were there for the Galanthus. Upon entering the Hall the first stand I found was a great display of spring plants by Avon Bulbs. It was whilst looking at this fantastic display that I found SRGC forum member Alan_B.
(the Avon Bulbs stand)
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(Angelique - I think?)
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My next stop was the Foxgrove plants stand – this was a display made up entirely of snowdrops. Here I caught up with John Grimshaw and asked about the plants that are judged by the ‘Joint Rock Garden Plant Committee’ as I was unsure where to find these. John explained that they are tucked away in a committee room and would be shown to the public from 1pm onwards. I know, from personal experience, that these are often taken home within a couple of hours by the owners as they were gone by the time I got there in January! So if you want to see them, make sure you are in the halls between 1pm and 3pm! A slightly longer public display would be better I think ???
(Foxgrove stand)
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(Benhall Beauty)
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(Curly)
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The rest of the hall had many wonderful displays but not many more snowdrops.
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John
......to be continued.....
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Tuesday Part Two:
At 1 pm SRGC member David Quinton and myself headed towards the raised Dais to see how the plants submitted by Joe Sharmon and Dr Ronald MacKenzie had fared. As far as I could see, two plants were ‘recommended for a certificate of preliminary recommendation’.
('Greenfinch' shown by Dr MacKenzie)
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The following plant is now SO HIGH on my wants list - it was stunning!
('E. A. Bowles' shown by Joe Sharmon)
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And lastly one I was not overly excited by.
('Ruby Baker' shown by Dr MacKenzie)
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and that is possibly the end of my Galanthus 'blog' for 2008. I hope you have enjoyed my wandering witterings.
regards
John
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John, that's again a place where many of us will seldom come.
So good to see some good pictures from this show!
It's a pity when you only would go for the snowdrops, would be nice if you could show more on
a (monthly?) RHS Flowershow. ;)
Looking at this Iris White Cascade there raise questions for me. Is it possible to tell me who was the
exhibitor?
Did you see my picture in Weekly Lisse Flowershow this week? Looks very much the same with a different name????
Thank you
Luit
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Dear Luit
thank you for your reply. I am afraid that I did not take note of which nursery was displaying the Iris in question. Below is the only other picture I have of that stand - in the hope that someone else who attended yesterday may recognise the display and be able to answer your question for you.
As to a monthly report: I do not often go to the show. It means taking holiday time from work which is not always possible. I also find that the event is very crowded, which I have trouble coping with.
regards
John
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As to a monthly report: I do not often go to the show. It means taking holiday time from work which is not always possible. I also find that the event is very crowded, which I have trouble coping with.
Sorry John, seeing these pictures I was just dreaming of.... :D
and I was not aware there being so many people.
Thank you for the last picture!
I'll have look at RHS website.
Luit
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Looking at this Iris White Cascade there raise questions for me. Is it possible to tell me who was the
exhibitor?
I'm pretty sure the exhibitor was Jacques Amand http://www.jacquesamand.co.uk/
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Looking at this Iris White Cascade there raise questions for me. Is it possible to tell me who was the
exhibitor?
I'm pretty sure the exhibitor was Jacques Amand http://www.jacquesamand.co.uk/
Thank you Alan!
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Thanks John! I never find time to get to the RHS shows (or any other events!) these days, so it's great to get a glimpse of what I'm missing.
That poculiform plicatus 'E.A. Bowles' is stunning and an appropriate tribute to Bowles. For any forum members who don't know, E.A. Bowles already has another snowdrop named after him - 'Augustus' (which is the 'A' in Bowles' initials). Apologies if everyone already knew that.
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Thanks Martin
I didn't know that - but it is interesting because the Proculiform one really reminded me of a very full Augustus.
John
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Martin,
Couldn't agree more - G. 'E.A. Bowles' is a stunning flower. In another thread there is a discussion on the differences, the oftentimes very small differences, between snowdrops and it makes it particularly pleasing to have a snowdrop cultivar which is distinctly different - and beautiful as well.
Also, re E.A. Bowles, his series of 'My Garden in Spring' etc are still makes reading which is both superbly enjoyable and also very informative. He was an excellent gardener and writer. The snowdrop is indeed fitting for itsname.
Great shots and report, John. Many thanks. Paddy
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E.A. Bowles' 'My Garden In...' series were some of the first gardening books I ever read (along with Roy Elliott's 'Alpine Gardening' and Stern's 'Snowdrops and Snowflakes') as a teenager. All have had a huge influence on me and are still on my bookshelves.
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Iris 'White Cascade' also looks like 'Natalie'
Galanthus 'E.A. Bowles' has already had limited distribution. Here it is in a garden I visited last weekend. It is very nice
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Looking at this Iris White Cascade there raise questions for me. Is it possible to tell me who was the
exhibitor?
I'm pretty sure the exhibitor was Jacques Amand http://www.jacquesamand.co.uk/
He (John Amand) will be at Dunblane on Saturday.
I do like 'Greenfinch' and 'E. A. Bowles'.
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I do like 'Greenfinch' and 'E. A. Bowles'.
as did the Joint Rock Garden Plant Committee (and me ;D)
John
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Galanthus 'E.A. Bowles' has already had limited distribution. Here it is in a garden I visited last weekend. It is very nice
Did you forget to post the pic, Mark?
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I think G. E.A. Bowles is beautiful. I'd like to see G. Greenfinch in real life to decide on that one. Am I the only one who thinks 'Ruby Baker' is pretty?
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Am I the only one who thinks 'Ruby Baker' is pretty?
Pretty yes - but perhaps such a magnificant plants woman should be deserving of a more magnificant plant to take her name?
John
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Am I the only one who thinks 'Ruby Baker' is pretty?
Not met Ruby so can't comment. ;)
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Perhaps if we could see between her huge petals?
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Am I the only one who thinks 'Ruby Baker' is pretty?
I do too. A classically beautiful snowdrop. Not way out there in the unusualness stakes, which is what a lot of galanthophiles are looking for these days. But just the sort of thing I look for in my seedlings - a realy good classical shape with smooth whiter-than-white porcelain petals and what looks like a nice clean, crisp mark. I note from the ticket that it's got gracilis blood in it, and I always find gracilis blood adds class to a seedling.
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Iris 'White Cascade' also looks like 'Natalie'
Galanthus 'E.A. Bowles' has already had limited distribution. Here it is in a garden I visited last weekend. It is very nice
Mark, what is Iris Natalie??
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oops, 'Natasha'
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See how many forum members you can spot in this photo
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Trym, with Rosemary Burnham behind, displayed on the Foxgrove Nurseries stand (neither was for sale).
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I see lots of bald heads but no camo gear
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Thanks for the pictures John and Alan. I don't know, you go out of the house to visit snowdrop gardens and you come back to find all these wonderful pictures, how lucky are we! At long last I see why Curly is so called.
Ruby Baker is a good honest snowdrop but E.A.Bowles, wow I just love the poculiforms. It is interesting to note that Greenfinch was another found by Richard Hobbs in the Greatorex plot! It's certainly a very prolific spot for snowdrops.
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I see lots of bald heads but no camo gear
One of the bald heads is me - but I was in disguise. :D
John
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One of the bald heads is me - but I was in disguise. :D
John
[/quote]
Backpack, centre of pic!
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oops, 'Natasha'
The falls of Natascha are not so clear white, Mark.
Would like to know if White Cascade is a reticulata?
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Maggi, is this thread to be for general garden visits or just for snowie related visits please?
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This one is for snowie visits, David.... feel free to start another in the general section.... 8)
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Any one going to the Galanthus Gala this weekend - I am relying on you to take lots of photos to show me. ;D - not just close ups of flowers. A couple of pictures to give a feel of the event would be great (how crowded? What the rugby scrum for the sales tables is like! etc)
:-* PLEASE :-*
Many thanks
John
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Hi John, sorry we haven`t a gala here in germany, but some good pics for you.
THE PERL
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Some more
KILDARE klein
KARLA E klein
SAVILL GOLD
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last but not least
GRÜNE OSTERN left TILL E right
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Hi Hagen
thank you for th pictures - is the last one taken in a churchyard? It seems to have a big lump of stone next to it - a gravestone perhaps?
I think Kildare is such a lovely snowdrop.
regards
John
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Hello Chris, I posted here some pics from kultivars you know from my list. I hope their names aren`t doubled?!
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No John, it`s in my garden. I use the complanate upright stones to bring shadow to the foot of the plants. The ground/soil should be cool. And between the stones I can place special soil.
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Hagan
that sounds interesting - I would like to see a photograph that is not a close up, so that it will show your garden and stones.
with many thanks
John
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Hagen, some nice photos, I particularly like the mark on that Till E. I'm with John, could we see more photos of your garden please?
Brian
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Lovely pictures Hagen. Is Kildare an Irish cultivar?
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Very nice, Hagen! I especially like The Perl and Karla. And your Kildare seem to be doing well. It doesn't seem to like me very much - both Kildare bulbs I have bought stayed very small and wouldn't flower, so I chipped both to try to get it going better, but all the new bulblets also seem to want to stay small. I think I need to feed my snowdrops more!
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Lovely pictures Hagen. Is Kildare an Irish cultivar?
Yes. Found in Co. Kildare, Ireland, by Ruby and David Baker.
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Thanks Martin.
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Any one going to the Galanthus Gala this weekend - I am relying on you to take lots of photos to show me.
John
I think I'm going to cry! I couldn't book for the Gala (and couldn't give a talk on snowdrop breeding that Joe asked me to give) because of a book launch in Germany - which my German publishers recently cancelled (for reasons they have yet to explain to me)!!! Boo-hoo! And I was hoping to visit Thomas while I was in Germany.
Next year I'm just booking the gala weekend and that's that. I'm fed up with never getting to any snowdrop events because of work! >:(
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Then you'd better jump on a train and come to Scotland, instead, Martin! Dunblane and all that...... 8)
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So Martin you have lots of time now - your invitation is still valid!!
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Then you'd better jump on a train and come to Scotland, instead, Martin! Dunblane and all that...... 8)
As soon as the work thing in Germany was cancelled, I got roped into fun half-term family stuff instead.
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So Martin you have lots of time now - your invitation is still valid!!
Thanks Thomas. If my German publishers ever start publishing my books in Germany again (or I find another publisher(!), I'll be seeing you - count on it! :) This weekend I now have some lovely long family walks on the Malvern Hills and the Brecon Beacons to look forward too (very nice, but a long way from any snowdrops!)
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At least you will have a good weekend with the family... it may even be nice weather! Have fun!
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Then you'd better jump on a train and come to Scotland, instead, Martin! Dunblane and all that...... 8)
As soon as the work thing in Germany was cancelled, I got roped into fun half-term family stuff instead.
Don't talk to me about half term. Something we don't have in Scotland. Worse still, my wife teaches in Dunblane and her local authority had last Monday and Tuesday off. I have this Monday coming! Gone are the days when we could drop the children at Grandma's and have a long weekend in Paris!
[Dunblane is in Perthshire but is administered by Stirling Council. Falkirk, where I teach, is in Stirlingshire but is administered by Falkirk Council. Both used to belong to the now defunct Central Region, when at least holidays were coincidental.]
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[This weekend I now have some lovely long family walks on the Malvern Hills and the Brecon Beacons to look forward too (very nice, but a long way from any snowdrops!)
Martin
look on the map to see if you can spot any Churches in the area - I have seen some wonderful drifts of drops in the graveyards I have visited over the last few weeks.
John
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So Martin you have lots of time now - your invitation is still valid!!
Thanks Thomas. If my German publishers ever start publishing my books in Germany again (or I find another publisher(!), I'll be seeing you - count on it! :) This weekend I now have some lovely long family walks on the Malvern Hills and the Brecon Beacons to look forward too (very nice, but a long way from any snowdrops!)
Loads of 'Snowies' in the grass verges in the lanes around The Malverns Martin.
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SRGC Snowdrop Walk, Brechin Castle 17th February 2008
Hi to all here are the first set of pictures from the Snowdrop walk on Sunday, we had a superb day with good sunshine and 46 brave souls who were very energatic and completely mad. I am showing some group pictures ( I do not have a list of names but you will recognise some people)plus a few snowdrops the next will be more snowdrops. I am very pleased to tell you all that Galanthus plicatus x nivalis 'Lady Dalhousie' was given a P.C. by the Joint Rock at Dunblane show. I do agree that it may look like others but in the flesh flowering on the day this was just superb so the first pic is Lady Dalhousie with Lady Dalhousie I am sure you will know which is which.?? cheers Ian the Christie kind.
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Hi again next set of pictures, Ian.
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Hi Ian
I so wish I could have made it up there for the first group visit to Brechin. We are intending to try and come 'up north' next spring - so I hope you will be planning a return trip in 2009.
Thank you for posting the pictures from this years explorations.
best wishes
John
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Today a morning visit to Ann Borrills Wymondham garden which is also open tomorrow. I just love the way the spring bulbs are all interspersed and hope you enjoy these images. There were many more snowdrops open but I restricted myself to a few photos, sadly one of the ones that didn't come out (it was windy and a bad workman always blames his tools) was Galanthus Yashmak which twin marks at the base of the inners looks like a lady's eyes peeping over her Yashmak. I'll see if I can get a photo next time I am over there.
Firstly a general view of the back garden with another visitor.
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I think she is looking at Wandelbury Ring.
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Nearby Norfolk Blonde was in flower, I showed you the emerging shoots in January:
Re: Galanthus January 2008
« Reply #684 on: January 22, 2008, 10:33:05 PM »
and here it is,
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named after Rosie Steele (please note Tony!)
Quite different as it is a much bigger flower was a new one to me (there always is in Ann's garden :)) Aurelia, so big that it is trying to flower as it emerges,
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one of those big snowdrops on short scapes that almost touches the ground with the weight of the flower.
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Also in the same bed was Margery Fish,
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one snowdrop which I cannot really decide on whether I like it or not, which may of course come as a surprise to some people ::)
Nearby in the same bed is Sandhill Gate, quite a smart nivalis poculiform.
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Whereas elsewhere in the garden was a nivalis with splendid green leaves.
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Around the rest of the back garden were all sorts of snowdrops including a very tall Hunton Giant (see next post)
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There was quite a nice clump of Armine (annoying that mine has decided to disappear this year)
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Near one of the glasshouses were two troughs, in one of which was the dainty little Elfin
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Whilst a new acquisition was Greenfinch, found by Richard Hobbs in the Greatorex garden
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Two more large flowered snowdrops that caught my eye were Helen Tomlinson
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and Percy Picton
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lastly one which appeared in the garden and Ann has called Wishbone for obvious reasons!
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As you can see there is a whole variety of corydalis, cyclamen, hellebores etc interplanted with the snowdrops, it is a very pretty spring garden I hope you will agree.
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Hello Brian,
What an inspiring spring garden! I wish mine was as packed as that!
Jane
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Whoops sorry missed the Hunton Giant
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Me too Jane, still I can but try :-\
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Thanks Brian, a great tour.
johnw
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Yes, thanks Brian. 'Elfin' is a real little cutie!
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Brian,
Obviously a garden crammed with interest.
Paddy
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Brian
thank you for taking the time to post the pictures from your visit to the garden of Ann Borrill. I was surprised to see how many plants were still looking great. I obviously need to try and add some late flowering items to my little patch.
Once again many thanks. I know it is quite time consuming to do such a post but I have really appreciated the oportunity to see another galanthophile's garden.
best wishes
John
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Thank you all, but all I did was post the pictures. I'll pass on your comments to Ann, I know she will be pleased.
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'Aurelia' is a snowdrop from Ray Cobbs garden which was seen and named by Matt Bishop who thought it was different. Rays view is to quote 'its a miserable thing and I cannot see why anybody would want it' Clearly beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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I think Ann had it from Ray, I thought it was a nice one with good substantial flowers. :)
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Perhaps it grow better with her and looks nicer.
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Quite possibly so Tony, in this picture it stands out quite well I think,
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I have cropped it below so you can see where it is, about half way up the picture.
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Hi everyone I visited House of Pitmuies today abot 7 miles east of Forfar a long way North for most of you but i read today in a very well known Suday paper that the Snowdrop season was over ( heaven forbid) I took great delight to send them a strongly worded E mail. I send some pictures showing that the season in Scotland for snowdrops will last another MONTH what a show at Pitmuies entry is £3.50 we had a great time a day out by ourselves, first this year. Ian the Christie kind.
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Brian
I think he was having a grumpy moment when I spoke to him this afternoon.Ray is my oldest (in every respect)friend and I visited him last Thursday morning to see his garden, and it looked wonderful but I am not a galanthus person and so when I had seen lots and lots of white things I concentrated on his narcissus which were pretty good as well.
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Ian, nice photo of the Head Gardener ! 8) ;)
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Hi Maggie, indeed I have heard about your head being full of mince but thought that head was a potted head? cheers Christie
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I've been to Anne's garden and second everything Brian has said. I'll be there next Feb for a visit
Here are some snowdrops from a garden I was in over the weekend
selection
elwesii Big Boy
elwesii John Tomlinson
elwesii Margaret Biddulph
gracilis poculiform
Madalaine
nivalis Greenish
nivalis Walrus
Galanthus nivalis Tutu
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Last three for that garden
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Here are a few picture's from my garden today.
nivalis Deerslot?
nivalis White dream
the cheering snowdrop getting bigger
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Here is another nice drop from a colleage from me and some late Elwesii, i took the photo today.
The small one was found in Russia.
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Mark,
I must say I adore those snowdrops with long elegant outer segments and found G. 'Madalaine' with its yellow markings so beautiful. You also had other similarly long outer petalled snowdrops which are simply beautiful. In the first post, picture one - 'selection' - seems to have particularly pointed outer segments, nice.
Nice set of photographs.
Paddy
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Paddy there will be more later this evening I hope.
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I am seriously considering spending a long weekend up in Maggi's neck of the woods in early 2009. Not yet sure if me and the driver could cope with the cooler temperatures up there, being the soft Southerners that we are.
John
Just reading some of the old posts - and enjoying reading the goings on from 2008 - it was a good year for Galanthus viewing that year (unlike the abysmal weather that caused many of the 2009 events to be postponed :( ).
Reading the above quoted post - I have realised that I am eventually carrying out my threat to invade Scotland - a year late ::) - but February 2010 I shall be there. 8)
Maybe in February 2011 Ireland, Germany or Holland had better prepare for a KentGardener invasion. ;)
Best wishes
John
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I am seriously considering spending a long weekend up in Maggi's neck of the woods in early 2009. Not yet sure if me and the driver could cope with the cooler temperatures up there, being the soft Southerners that we are.
John
Just reading some of the old posts - and enjoying reading the goings on from 2008 - it was a good year for Galanthus viewing that year (unlike the abysmal weather that caused many of the 2009 events to be postponed :( ).
Reading the above quoted post - I have realised that I am eventually carrying out my threat to invade Scotland - a year late ::) - but February 2010 I shall be there. 8)
Maybe in February 2011 Ireland, Germany or Holland had better prepare for a KentGardener invasion. ;)
Best wishes
John
Well, why not, but you've got to survive a weekend with us, first! Hope you are already taking the extra vitamins to give you the strength!! As well as Dunblane Day, there will be the Brechin Castle visit, too...... 8)
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Sorry haven't been back here in a while. Yes do go to Howick Hall any time of year - the woodland garden is stunning in spring at camellia time and autumn is also fabulous.