For a few snowdrops more: back to Thenford

Last year I visited Thenford for the first time.  It is rather a special place and I knew that I would want to return.  It is not open very often and sadly most dates are not possible for me this year, but I was not going to miss snowdrop time.

Lord Hestletine is a galanthophile and there are more special snowdrops to see in his garden then you (well certainly I) can imagine.  There are the expected drifts of nivalis....
and there are clumps of labelled snowdrops throughout the garden.  It is impossible to visit at this time of the year without spending a lot of time bending down peering at snowdrops and reading the labels.  Whilst the differences are sometimes rather slight, after a short while you 'get your eye in' and start to form opinions about these differences that prior to visiting you (I mean I) would not have thought possible.
This is Ding Dong, I liked Ding Dong alot.  If you peer at it you can see that the ovule is a pale yellowy-green, almost avocado colour.
This is Blewberry Tart, you can see it has very distinct petal formation.  It is quite fancy for a snowdrop and I cannot quite decide if I like it or not, I sort of do in a I think I shouldn't way.
This tiny wee thing is an alpinus, it is teeny tiny and I think best grown in a pot, I would struggle to see it if planted into my garden.
This one is Modern Art.
I think it is rather special, it has pale green splashes on the petals.  I like it a lot.
I might (did) buy one.  I also left with a small list of snowdrops I want to look out for and buy.  I am not spending lots of money on them, I am no where near the scale that true collectors are at.  I am playing around the edges, which I suspect is a place my bank-balance will insist I remain.

Other snowdrop gardens visited this year:

Holme Pierrepont Hall

Hodsock Priory

Evenley Wood

Colesbourne Park 

Comments

  1. I restrict myself to two new varieties a year, for similar budgetary reasons, but there's nothing wrong with having a wish list and mine is getting rather long! I don't know what it is about snowdrops but I find them irresistible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I shall be doing likewise, once you start looking at them and enjoying them then they just sort of take over

      Delete

Post a Comment

Comments are approved before being published