Hi Gail,
Yes, it is indeed nice to see the Autumn Snowdrops blooming. Thank you for sharing the photograph.
Here in our part of Interior Northern California the weather is currently warm and dry, however another storm is forecasted to arrive this weekend with rain and much cooler temperatures. There is finally frost at the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
There are a very limited number of Snowdrops available in our part of California. I use my imagination to find substitute plants to fill this garden niche in our garden. The genus Acis seems to hold some possibilities. Both Acis autumnale and A. rosea bloom in the autumn for us, however they grow and bloom much better with a very dry rest during the summertime. Acis tingitana is very beautiful and blooms in January. Acis nicaeensis blooms a bit later in the early spring. Both need to be tested in our open garden. Right now, they are growing in our cinder block garden where they are kept dry during the summer. Stretching this idea to the limit, we are experimenting with our California native, Cardamine californica. It blooms very early in the season, sometimes as early as January, depending on the elevation. The flowers range in color from pure white to light pink. They seem to demand summertime dry in our garden (like what they would get in their natural habitat), however we shall see how adaptable they can become through our breeding efforts. We also cross pollenate the few Snowdrops we currently have in our garden to see if we can come up with something different. The seedlings are coming along nicely, yet blooming plants are still several years away.
Anyway, thank you again for sharing your photograph.
