New GALANTHUS summer 2025

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Introducing Dryad Nursery's new snowdrops for this summer. I hope there will be some of our new yellows available in the green next year, on EBAY. Starting with the MYTHS and LEGENDS Group:
CUPID AND PSYCHE
Cupid was the famous Roman god of love and desire, often depicted with wings, and his iconic bow and arrow. Anyone pierced by one of Cupid’s arrows was fated to be filled with desire.
The story goes that he was sent by his mother, Venus, to punish a princess, Psyche, whose beauty was persuading people to worship her instead of Venus herself. He was to shoot her with an arrow, hoping to make her fall in love with something monstrous. Of course, he manages to scratch himself instead, so instantly falling in love with Psyche, much to the disgust of his mother!
DRYAD CUPID 4122-1-18
Cupid’s snowdrop is a visitor favourite, with elegantly spread outers which display the deep green inner segments. The ribbed outers carry a double mark: the apical mark is a clear-cut, deep emerald green, inverted U, while the basal mark is a light apple green oval, fading towards the ovary. On the underside of the outers, however, you will find Cupid’s signature arrow. The shorter inner segments bear a deep green waisted mark, leaving a sharp transition to the white border around the sinus.
Flowering in February at 18cm high, the plicate leaves are almost prostrate, so present the flowers well.
DESCRIPTION
Parents are Corrin x (Trimmer x South Hayes). The outer segments are 21 x 13 mm, folded lengthwise. The inner segments are 12 x 10 mm. The elongated ovary is 9 x 6 mm, while the gently curved spathe is equal in length to the pedicel. The claw at 5mm long, changes direction sharply to a slight ‘shoulder’. It is lightly scented.
DRYAD PSYCHE 4802-2-20
This charming snowdrop was chosen to be Cupid’s mythical paramour because it shares the similarly distinctive mark of his arrow on the underside of the outers.
The shape of the flowers, however, diverge in not having flaring outers, but rather they very gently curve inwards from the base, before flicking out the very tip at the sinus. The outer segment marks are similar to those of Dryad Cupid – there is a clear-cut apical half-moon, and a more diffuse apple-green oval between it and the white base. The inners barely peek out from between the outers, as there is almost no discernible claw. The inner segment markings mirror those of Dryad Cupid. Dryad Psyche has a diagnostic, almost spherical, dark green ovary.
Also flowering in February at 18cm high, the plicate leaves are upright to arching, but held well below the flowers.
DESCRIPTION
Parents are Demeter x Corrin. The outer segments are 17 x 10mm, incurving lengthwise. The inner segments are 13 x 9 mm. The spherical ovary is 6 x 6 mm, while the pedicel is 80equal in length to the almost straight spathe. There is almost no claw. It is scented.

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DRYAD PERSEPHONE 4853-A-1
In the Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility.
Her beauty captivated Hades, the king of the underworld, who kidnapped her and took her to his kingdom as his wife. Demeter was so angry, she withdrew her influence from the world, leaving it barren and devoid of nature. Zeus, the king of the gods, decreed that Persephone should be asked where she preferred to live, whereupon Hades tricked Persephone into wishing to live in the underworld (complicated, but avoid pomegranate seeds).  Demeter was furious and threatened to remove her benign influence from the world forever, so Zeus ruled that Persephone should live half the year in the Underworld and the rest of the year above. This is supposed to explain the change of the seasons, autumn and winter being when Persephone lived below, and spring and summer when her mother was overjoyed at her return to the world above.
DRYAD PERSEPHONE, her snowdrop, is also a rare, richly fragrant and distinctive beauty, the outer markings echoing her story, with the single mark dark at the bottom and light and delicate above, representing the change of the seasons, and her journey into the world above.
The very distinctive outer segments are broad, and sharply flared at the sides below a very prominent narrow claw, the apical mark being a deep green half-moon, streaking along the deep veins and diffusing into a hazy pale green oval at the base. Their undersides show similar, but less clear-cut markings. The inner segments bear a waisted mark and also grade from deep to paler green towards the base.
Flowering at 20cm under glass, the plicate leaves are upright or gently arching, well below the flowers at flowering time.

DESCRIPTION
Parents are (Trymlet x South Hayes) x Mother Goose. The outer segments are 21 x 15mm, incurving lengthwise. The inner segments are 19 x 10 mm. The cylindrical ovary is 11 x 6 mm, while the pedicel is 80% of length of the almost straight spathe. The narrow claw is 5mm long, the outer edge changing direction to the blade through almost 90˚. It is richly scented.

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Our new autumn snowdrop seedling was given an Award of Merit by the Joint Rock Garden Committee last autumn. We have named it DRYAD REGINA.
This queen among snowdrops was named in homage to her parent species, G. reginae-olgae, but also as a nod to our other Autumn Aristocrats group, to which she is related through a common mother species, and yet with a slightly different heritage – the other Aristocrats have G. peshmenii as pollen parent.
DRYAD REGINA is a seedling from G. reginae-olgae ‘Blanc de Chine’, a much sought-after albino variety of the familiar autumn-flowering species from Greece. Dryad Regina’s shapely flowers are not completely white, retaining two faint green spots at the apex of the inner segments, and a green wash on the underside. The two varieties converge, however, when you bear in mind that ‘Blanc de Chine’ occasionally shows green on the inners, and Dryad Regina’s flowers mature to almost completely white (if not pollinated – that makes the flowers go over too quickly to show the change).
The outer segments of Dryad Regina are fuller and more rounded than Blanc de Chine, giving the flower more impact. It also seems to be more vigorous, Blanc de Chine being known for its miffiness and slow increase. The scented flowers appear in October at 140mm high, before the leaves emerge.

DESCRIPTION
Ex G. reginae-olgae ‘Blanc de Chine’, sown 2017. Flowering in October at 140mm high, before the leaves emerge. The spathe is curved, and slightly shorter than the pedicel, while the ovary is egg-shaped. The outer segments are 27mm long, and 17mm wide (when flattened) and rounded, with a 6mm long ‘claw’. The inner segments are 12mm long by 10mm wide and bear two faint green spots at the apex, fading as the flower matures. The underside of the inners shows pale green shading between the veins. The flowers are scented with a fresh grassy or citrus-like perfume.

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After a concentrated effort in breeding new poculiform snowdrops undertaken in 2014, I have finally begun to select the best of the 80 plus seedlings, after trialling, to join Dryad Blizzard in our Snow Group. For 2025, these are DRYAD SNOWDRIFT and  DRYAD SNOWCAP and DRYAD AVALANCHE

DRYAD SNOWDRIFT
Bred from E A Bowles x The Bride, this is a plicatus x elwesii cross. The flowers are almost globular, with deeply cupped segments, diverging sharply from the claw to give a ‘shouldered’ appearance. At 19cm high, they are held clear of the leaves at flowering time, and hang gracefully from the gently curved spathe. Perhaps its most striking feature is its remarkably strong almost scent, like marzipan.
DESCRIPTION
Parents are E A Bowles x The Bride. Sown in 2014. Flowering height 19cm. The outer segments are 25 x 14mm, deeply cupped. The inner segments are 20 x 16 mm. The oval ovary is 8 x 6 mm, while the pedicel is 60% of length of the gently curved spathe. The short claw is 3mm long.
The supervolute leaves are 140 x 22 mm, hooded at their tip and are erect to arching. It is strongly almond-scented.

DRYAD ICEBERG
Also bred from Dryad Blizzard x White Perfection, this is an elwesii cross. The flowers on this clone are probably the longest of all the seedlings. The outer segments are 37mm long, compared with Dryad Blizzard, already an imposing flower, at 30mm. At 27cm high, the flowers overtop the leaves at flowering time open widely in the sun to display the inner segments.
The outer segments flare smoothly from the very long claw, and are of heavy substance, attractively cupped. The inners are shorter, but similar in shape. The overall impression is of a very large, elegant flower, which will be difficult to ignore in the garden.
DESCRIPTION
Parents are Dryad Blizzard x White Perfection. Sown in 2017. Flowering height 27cm. The outer segments are 37 x 18 mm, and concave. The inner segments are 28 x 13 mm. The oval ovary is 9 x 6 mm, the pedicel is 80% of length of the arching spathe. The claw is 8mm long.
The supervolute leaves are 230 x 27 mm and are erect to arching. It is scented.

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The last of our 2025 introductions is an addition to our musical green group:
DRYAD CAPRICE
Dryad Caprice was selected for the delicate markings on the outer segments. These begin with a bright white spot at the apex, surrounded by a solid apple-green zone over the apical quarter, which streaks as distinct green lines towards the base, dissolving into white just before the long, narrow claw. In contrast, the inner segments are a deep green, becoming slightly paler towards the base. It is a neat grower, flowering at 15cm, just above the erect leaves.
DESCRIPTION
Parents are Rosemary Burnham x Simply Glowing. Sown in 2016. Flowering height 15cm. The outer segments are 25 x 16 mm, and concave, with the lateral edges flipped out. The inner segments are 14 x 7 mm. The cylindrical ovary is 9 x 6 mm, the pedicel is 80% of length of the arching spathe. The claw is 6mm long.
The erect leaves are 120 x 20 mm and are supervolute, with hooded tips. It is also scented!