Snowdrop events 2015

[emma T]

Yes dispute the weather it was a great day

[Brian Ellis]

The Sunday event is at Blacksmiths.  The Saturday event is in East Tuddenham.  Lumping the tow together as a 'Norfolk Snowdrop Weekend' is just a neat bit of marketing.

Not at all, Kathy - who is organising the Plant Heritage day (with Andy Byfield and Joe as speakers), is well aware that some people will be travelling a fair distance and by having it on the same weekend that Blacksmiths have their day it means that they can stay over and do both.  It's nothing to do with marketing, more consideration for people travelling a long way, much like the events in Kent this weekend.

[johnstephen29]

Thanks Alan, where's east tuddenham?

[Brian Ellis]

East Tuddenham is near Dereham so a lot closer to you than Rushall!

[johnstephen29]

Crikey Brian your quick off the mark , I know Dereham really well, I have a mate nr there at North elmham.

[Alan_b]

Brian, I was upset to find that of the very few snowdrop events ever held in East Anglia, two are scheduled to be on the same day in 2016 (being the Norfolk Plant Heritage Snowdrop Day, and the snowdrop sale at Harvey's Garden Plants).  Ben Potterton holds an event every year; the Plant Heritage day is a one-off.  I corresponded with Ben Potterton and Kathy Gray to try to understand their scheduling rationale.  As you say, the hope is to attract people to travel a fair distance by staging two events on the one weekend and advertising them together (even though they are being held about 30 miles apart).  I think we must understand different things by the term 'marketing' because this seems to me to be good effective marketing.  But the consequence is an unfortunate clash of two snowdrop events in the same area.         

[Brian Ellis]

As you say, the hope is to attract people to travel a fair distance by staging two events on the one weekend

No I did not say that, the Norfolk Plant Heritage study days regularly attract PH members from Essex, Cambridge, Lincolnshire and further afield - even Scotland!

[David King]

Brian, I was upset to find that of the very few snowdrop events ever held in East Anglia, two are scheduled to be on the same day in 2016 (being the Norfolk Plant Heritage Snowdrop Day, and the snowdrop sale at Harvey's Garden Plants).  Ben Potterton holds an event every year; the Plant Heritage day is a one-off.  I corresponded with Ben Potterton and Kathy Gray to try to understand their scheduling rationale.  As you say, the hope is to attract people to travel a fair distance by staging two events on the one weekend and advertising them together (even though they are being held about 30 miles apart).  I think we must understand different things by the term 'marketing' because this seems to me to be good effective marketing.  But the consequence is an unfortunate clash of two snowdrop events in the same area.         

What seems to be eluding you is that the Norfolk Plant Heritage Snowdrop study day is a one off event being held mainly for the benefit of the members of Plant Heritage who are not necessarily galanthophiles.  After Norfolk Plant Heritage members have been able to book their places tickets will be offered to non members.  If there is a sale in another county it is of no consequence whatsoever to Norfolk Plant Heritage and it should not be. Also, as far as I am aware, the two Norfolk events are  not being advertised together, indeed the NPH arrangements have only just been finalised. Nothing is stopping you going to a snowdrop sale in another county if that is more to your taste.  The choice is yours.  I suspect a NPH study day, being highly praised by past attendees, is probably much more attractive to the average punter than a sale that they can go to anytime.  If you have been to one sale during the season why do need to go to any more particularly as the sellers are quite often the same people?  Tickets for the NPH day will of course will be limited.

[Alan_b]

I don't think anything of what you said had eluded me, David.  But I'm sure others will be grateful for your clarification of the presumed level of expertise of the attendees and the likely availability of tickets.  I presume the event will be open to all Plant Heritage members on equal terms, not just those from Norfolk.

[kentish_lass]

What a lovely snowdroppy weekend I had.  Saturday afternoon there was a knock on the door and to my surprise there was John (kentgardener) standing on the doorstep looking trim, tanned and smiley.  Everyone was going to Arthurs (Art600) for a cup of tea and a natter so I hopped in my car and joined them.  It was lovely to see AlanB, John and Arthur and I did my best to bore them senseless with my snowdrop problems    I think we all came to the conclusion that snowdrops can be a challenge but we still love them.  I feel like I have known these guys forever but its only really since I joined this forum 3 maybe 4 years ago - we had a good laugh.

Then today I went to Great Comp Gardens, Platt, Kent which was easy for me as it is just 6 miles or so up the road.  I was not sure how many people it would attract especially with a £6 entry fee which was a bit steep (in my opinion).  There were four sellers there - Anita & Andrew Thorpe, Ann and Mike Broadhurst, Wol & Sue (Glen Chantry) and Joe Sharman (Monksilver).

People trickled in slowly and at one point it was really quite busy.  Joe was very busy as he was also selling Eranthis, little pots of Iris reticulata & Crocus plus some other woodland bits.  Most people will part with a few quid for a pot of something pretty whereas some of the Galanthus are specialised but I am sure they sold enough to make it worth their while staying an extra day.  I hope so.

I helped out for a few hours which stopped me shopping too much (do you believe me?) !  A thoroughly nice day with no rain as predicted.  I even managed to find a few snowdrops I have been wanting for a few years - Wandlebury Ring, Emerald Isle, Clovis and Kencot Kali.  I am very happy.

Hope the day was enough of a success that it will happen again next year.

[David King]

I presume the event will be open to all Plant Heritage members on equal terms, not just those from Norfolk.

There is a limit to the number of people who can attend (Health and Safety as with all events) hence the limit on tickets.  NPH has getting on for for 200 members, a large number of whom are galanthophiles who have a wealth of expertise.  No doubt as it is an NPH members event primarily I would think Group members would have an opportunity to book before ticketing is thrown open to other groups and the general public.

One thing I do agree with you on is the lack of events in East Anglia.  Perhaps you should consider taking up the cudgel and become pro active and organise an East Anglian event, in the same way as Emma T and others have been so in the birth of the Shaftesbury event.  Someone like you with, I assume, plenty of contacts should be able to create a hugely successful day.

[Tim Ingram]

Nice picture of Wol and Sue, Jenny. Interesting to read these (slight) altercations between different snowdrop events because there can be a difference in how you view them depending on whether you might be a seller (and garden) involved, or buyer! (or presumably organiser who has to balance the requirements of everyone else - I speak from experience of all of these . We were at Goodnestone Garden in East Kent on the same day as the Great Comp day, and the former has been going for many years but way out on a geographical limb and not really attracting the great and good of the snowdrop world so readily. Val Bourne gave a marvellous talk about the history of snowdrops and the various people she has met over the past twenty or more years. Several of us nursery-people standing out on a freezing cold February day began to wonder why we don't organise something ourselves in a warmer and more pleasant situation despite the close and friendly association we have had with Goodnestone and Margaret Fitzwalter over very many years. A group of us, the 'Plant Roadshow' have come together to make an association to do this very thing, but as you see there are many others doing the same and a great deal of competition. To grow an interest in snowdrops though, just as in the specialist societies, it is necessary to look outwards to new gardeners as well as all of us who are so hooked on snowdrops already.

[Brian Ellis]

What a lovely snowdroppy weekend I had. 

You certainly did Jennie, thanks for showing us pics, and nice to meet up with everybody isn't it.

[Alan_b]

Perhaps you should consider taking up the cudgel and become pro active and organise an East Anglian event, in the same way as Emma T and others have been so in the birth of the Shaftesbury event.

I did consider that when we learned that there would be no Galanthus Gala in 2014, made some preliminary enquiries but it turned out that my first choice of venue was not available and by that time I found that out Emma had come up with the Shaftesbury event (on the same 'vacant' day).  So I threw what little support I could offer behind helping to publicise that event. 

Now I'm beginning to wonder if we have too many events in the south of England.  Apart from Shaftesbury there are AGS, CGS and HPS snowdrop events.  There are sales at Myddleton House and Harvey's and the Blacksmiths Cottage Nursery event that falls in between the two types.  There's the RHS London show and snowdrop open days at various nurseries.  If you want to avoid a clash then the only 'available' day is the Sunday following the AGS event (which would be 7th February in 2016).  And there is only a limited pool of speakers to go round.  I went to quite a lot of the events this year and I think I would prefer to go to fewer better ones.     

Someone like you with, I assume, plenty of contacts should be able to create a hugely successful day.

Putting aside the validity of the assumption, I do not believe I could possibly mount such an event single-handed.  Joe Sharman gave it a good try but eventually had to give up. 

[Maggi Young]

 28th February- 1st March sees the Oirlicher Blumengarten event.  This occasion will bring many memories of the late Günter Waldorf  and the Oirlicher flower garden and the extensive collection of Galanthophiles Marlu and Günter Waldorf will  even in 2015 be open to visitors during the event.

Opening times on both days from 10am to 6pm
The venue is close to the venue from earlier years.
Landcafé "Zum Mühlenberg"
Carmen Rejhons, Walter Engels
Büschen 14, 41334 Nettetal
E-Mail: zummuehlenberg@hotmail.com
Tel: 0049 (0)2153 9513183
Tel: 0049 (0)2153 910622
Fax: 0049 (0)2153 9513184

Several UK sellers are expected and almost all the previous years' nursery folk  will attend -  we here will hope for good weather for the weekend!