from The Weatherstaff PlantingPlanner – intelligent garden design software
December’s snow and ice have given way to rain and mud here in the Forest of Dean and, while I’ll be more than happy to dig out the toboggans again if the weather turns Arctic once more, for the meantime I’ve been seduced into thinking that maybe spring is just around the corner.
A prowl around the garden and – yes, the first white bulbs are appearing amongst the green shoots along the hedgerow. The snowdrops – harbingers of spring – are well on their way.
From late January, gardens all around the country start welcoming visitors keen to take advantage of that brief time of year when the ground is carpeted with a blanket of snowdrops.
Family days out take some organising in our household, but last February, on a cold and rather grey winter’s day, a triumph of organisational skill culminated in the simultaneous arrival of children, dog and grandparents at Welford Park in Berkshire. We wandered through the Beech Wood and along the banks of the River Lambourn, trying to persuade Marnie the dog that taking a dip probably wasn’t advisable, and all the time, stretching out around us, lay vast swathes of white, as if a blanket of snow hugged the ground beneath the skeleton beeches.
The pure white snowdrop is such a simple, elegant flower. In huge, carpeting drifts, they are breathtaking.
For details of this year’s opening times, visit Welford Park’s website.
Click here for gardens in the UK where you can view displays of snowdrops.
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