Does any flower give more hope than snowdrops!Pure white modest flowers with a chaste beauty, that belies there tough nature.
There they are each January, bravely emerging between the fallen leaves and ivy tendrils.
They are of course hardy, but they are not the fastest of bulbs to colonise a woodland or river bank.
Where you see drifts of snowdrops you are looking at decades or even centuries of growth.
Such plantings are some of the loveliest sights you will see.
Snowdrops are often found in burial grounds, and such plantings must be for hope and memory.
I have seen snowdrops in well kept town cemeteries and on wind blasted burial grounds full of old graves, and they always stir the heart.
They are of course hardy, but they are not the fastest of bulbs to colonise a woodland or river bank.
Where you see drifts of snowdrops you are looking at decades or even centuries of growth.
Such plantings are some of the loveliest sights you will see.
Snowdrops are often found in burial grounds, and such plantings must be for hope and memory.
I have seen snowdrops in well kept town cemeteries and on wind blasted burial grounds full of old graves, and they always stir the heart.
In Drumnadrochit, a village close to Abriachan there is a very special area of woodland at the confluence of two rivers, called the Cover.
The Rivers that flow through the Cover to Loch Ness have regularly flooded in the past and have brought down plant material from gardens.
Hence we have had Japanese Knotweed (thankfully, hopefully eradicated now) and raspberry canes, but the one intruder I think is wonderful is the Snowdrop
Hence we have had Japanese Knotweed (thankfully, hopefully eradicated now) and raspberry canes, but the one intruder I think is wonderful is the Snowdrop
Undisturbed under the trees they have multiplied and now give a lovely show each year.
I was there on Sunday, a lovely mild day with the feel of the approach of spring.
For anyone with a new house and garden, wait for the first January, February and see if you have snowdrops if not, then buy some, and as with tree planting it is for the next generation.
Beautiful pictures - I agree that nothing is more cheering than snowdrops. They give you hope that however bad the winter has been, it is going to be ok. I was out in my Inverness garden today taking snowdrop pictures - some of these were originally bought from you!
ReplyDeletePics are here: http://wistfulgardener.com/2012/02/18/seedlings-and-snowdrops-romping-ahead/
A decade on and my clumps have been divided reqularly and there are snowdrops all over the place right now. Might stop by and visit your gargen again very soon. Best wishes, Vicky
Ah Snowdrops, I just need to see them in the garden in full bloom and that's the gardening season begun. Just come indoors after transplanting some clumps which had self seeded from a planting of them twenty years ago. I guess that is slower multiplication than the norm.
ReplyDeleteEven when there are in tight bud just waiting to open they are a sure reminder that Spring is on its way. Along the River Almond in Perthshire just now there are some beautiful drifts of nivalis. I'm hoping to plant more snowdrops in the next few weeks...........nice thought that they are there for future generations.
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