Events/Sales 2014

[Maggi Young]

Have we had note of the snowdrop days at Cathy Portier's place  in Belgium?

See all details here : http://www.vrvforum.be/?p=2754
Snowdrop weekends :
Saturday 1 and Sunday  2 February
Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 February
Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 February (from  9 to 17 hrs)

Alpenplantenkwekerij Cathy Portier
Cathy Portier en Jan Van de Sijpe

Margareta van Vlaanderenstraat 27
8310 Sint-Kruis BRUGGE

tel : +32 50 37 00 03
kwekerij: www.alpenplanten.be
e-shops: www.coolplants.com
blog: blog.coolplants.com

[hwscot]

apologies for ignorance .. if Ian and Cyril are going to Margaret Owen's does that imply she's somewhere on the east of Scotland? Is it appropriate to ask directions / details, or is it by invitation?

[Alan_b]

Margaret Owen lives in a village near Shrewsbury in Shropshire.  She opens her garden for charity.  Here is a link to the 2012 announcement http://shropshire-disability.net/open-garden-event-aid-shrewsbury-districtms-society/ .  I cannot find anything for 2014 but I imagine the times and price will be much the same.

[Maggi Young]

Kevock Garden:  open Sunday March 2nd from 12 to 3 for Snowdrop Festival. EH18 1HT.

Sunday March 2nd 2014    Stella and David    Kevock Garden open    Scotland's Gardens    16 Kevock Road, Lasswade, 12 noon to 3 pm

www.kevockgarden.co.uk

[steve owen]

Back from Holland/Belgium over a stormy North Sea. Kalmthout Arboretum was pretty sodden and the snowdrop event lacked some of the prominent names such as Valentin Wijnen, so I was disappointed in hoping to be able to see some of the more recent Continental discoveries. Called in to see the Dutch National Collection at Annie Fallingers where I received a warm greeting. Annie is growing lots of different varieties very well in a rich loamy soil. (Thou shalt not covert thy neighbour's ox, nor his ass, nor his soil etc...). As always when large numbers of different varieties of snowdrops are growing close together, some interesting seedlings had appeared and been marked by Annie.

Overnight at Volendam. Broek-in-Waterland had huge numbers of wildfowl - overwintering Whooper swans, geese, ducks, snowbuntings, even cranes. The highlight of the visit along with the fish soup at Volendam and the kibbeling at Marken.

Battled across the polders in gale force winds on Sunday morning to an equally warm welcome at Zaandam, for Gerard Oud's Zaanse Schans snowdrops event. This event felt like de Boschoeve but on a smaller scale, with nurserymen selling plenty of other types of plant in addition to snowdrops - rhubarb alongside Arnott. Found Daphne Bholua Gurkha and also Edgworthia Chrysantha Red Dragon, which I have only ever seen previously at Kew. Result! Gerard had a flowering pot of Elizabeth Harrison on his stand, which was attracting the photographers.

I recommend this event to any UK galanthophile who also enjoys birdwatching.
Steve

[Gerard Oud]

Thank you Steve, you were very welcome although you arrived a bit too early. But as they say, the early bird gest the worm

[emma T]

The SHAFTESBURY EVENT HAS NOT BEEN CANCELLED

every thing is going ahead as planned

Don't know where the rumour came from !

It's not cancelled

[Rudi B.]

Hello,

yes it's true!
The Nettetaler Snowdrop days, the brand new variety, Gal. niv. scharlockii 'Horst Kaufmann' a 100% poculiforme plant world premiere.

Rudi

[Maggi Young]

Well that is going to excite the green lovers, Rudi!

[Maggi Young]

After the success of the Irish Snowdrop Day, "A Celebration and Naming  of Irish Snowdrops" in Offaly, Republic of Ireland  last weekend, here's something by Paddy Tobin that will be of interest to those enthused by the 'drops that have been found in Ireland :

http://irishgardenplantsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Some-Irish-Snowdrops-by-Paddy-Tobin.pdf

[Lina Hesseling]

Thanks for sharing, Maggie.

Paddy I loved to read it. I will print it and keep it with my snowdrop books!

Lina.

[Maggi Young]

Happy to help, Lina - I thought it worth  knowing about !

[Leena]

Thanks for sharing, Maggie.
Paddy I loved to read it. I will print it and keep it with my snowdrop books!

Thanks from me, too.
I already printed it also.

[mark smyth]

Paddy here is 'Mary O'Brien'

[Maggi Young]

(re "1600 snowdrop and thefts)
One knock-on effect of all this is on large gardens which are open regularly with snowdrop collections and which cannot provide the security that a nursery can.
Tonight I have just been looking for opening details of three 'stately home' gardens near here which have opened with special snowdrop events that I have been to in the past. One is not opening now until the end of March and the other two have removed all mention of their snowdrop collections from their websites. Such a shame.

 Luckily The National Garden Scheme has a long list still of gardens open to view snowdrops :
http://www.ngs.org.uk/news-features/features/snowdrop-garden-openings.aspx