This page represents an initial effort at an on-line record of snowdrops (Galanthus species and hybrids) here at Gelli Uchaf. When we acquired the derelict property that is now our home, there was no garden, no flowers save a few old daffodils on our track banks, and certainly no obvious snowdrops for several miles around us. First created just after the first snowdrops emerged in October 2017, this page shadows a huge effort I made during the 2017 snowdrop season to photograph, label and record the majority of the different snowdrops which we then had growing here. It’s been updated a bit since.
Why bother with such a thing?
For me, the delight from growing snowdrops comes mainly from having masses of flowers in the garden very early in the year. But knowing which ones are garden worthy and will thrive in our wet conditions has been an evolving challenge, which has gradually led to being able to create vistas like these taken in February 2022 on one of those fairly rare days when the sun shone, without a hard frost!
The main reason for this more detailed record of cultivars was that any other sort of simple physical record of these bulbs could easily be lost or damaged. And to be of value to any garden (or blog) visitors, some sort of order and accessible database of photographic images had to be created. Perhaps also for anyone thinking of trying to grow a few different snowdrops for the first time, a little of the reasons behind this simple record might be helpful.
Perhaps it might also help to hint at the appeal of galanthophilia (love or even obsession, with snowdrops) which seems to afflict a small, but growing number of gardeners. The fact that so many frankly only subtly different variants have names associated with the people who found them, or places of origin, links the real appeal of snowdrop sharing – human stories of loved places and the planting of these bulbs to illuminate the scene during the darkest months of the year, when much else outside is dormant or lifeless.
Candles of hope, hinting at the exuberance of spring, a few weeks ahead. And tough enough to cope with whatever winter chucks at them. Googling “thermogenesis in snowdrops” was indeed the cue for me deciding to start a blog of life here, back in early spring 2011, after finding the blog of Carolyn Walker – a confirmed fellow galanthophile and nursery owner in Pennsylvania.
Being quite a novice as far as snowdrops are concerned (say 20 years), I decided a few things were important for these records:
- Many available images of snowdrops show just single photos of the flowers fully open so that you can see the inner segment markings, but often not the rest of the plant. Very appealing to showcase a flower. BUT!!! In many years in our damp upland climate, the occasions when the flowers actually open perfectly like this can be extremely limited. Perhaps just a few hours in total during the season. This is also why getting decent photos of them in situ in the ground is tricky, in poor light. Or wind. Or rain. Or all 3. Last year a camera upgrade with a greater ISO range, helped this project progress.
Also, the appeal of these earliest of flowers, for me, is much more tied up with the impact of the whole plant – foliage and flower – in persuading me outside, daily, whatever the weather, through the winter months to see the progress of their appearance. Even sun all day on December 18th 2017, couldn’t persuade many of the flowers of G. ‘Mrs. Macnamara’ to open, below.
So I’ve tried to illustrate just how this visual impact of the plants changes from when the first flower stem, or “scape”, pushes up through the soil. Inevitably with taking so many photos, some aren’t as good as I’d like, and some varieties don’t yet have a good selection of images available for me to use, in spite of taking nearly 6,000 photos in the 2017 snowdrop season alone.
- For similar reasons, when the flowers first appear is very important to me. Which is why I’ve listed them not alphabetically, but in order of appearance (beginning in 2017). Having recorded opening sequences for a few years now, there seems to be a remarkably good correlation for most varieties, relative to other cultivars, from one year to the next, give or take a few days – even with weather differences. Also as of 2020, there’s clear evidence that left undisturbed, many forms’ flowering times creep a little earlier each year – possibly because replacement bulbs tend to end up nearer the soil surface. If you want to plan for a long season of snowdrops within a garden, having a good idea of relative flower opening times is important.
Though even within a single garden, considerable variation in flower opening times will be the result of subtle micro-climate differences, and other factors around the garden. If you want to search these records more quickly for a particular snowdrop, you can just type in the name in the search box at the top right of this page, above the header photo.
- My definition of first flower “opening” (shown in bold italics in the description) in these lists relates to the point at which the first flower bud of a variety emerges from the spathe (the spear like sheath which protects the flower as it is forced up through the earth), and begins to turn towards horizontal. This is really when the snowdrop flowers start to have an impact on the scene (from a human perspective). And this change from vertical to horizontal nearly always happens very quickly, in less than 24 hours, and often overnight provided ambient temperatures are high enough.
- I might add more detail on leaf and flower form with time, since such minutiae of detail do help with cultivar identification, but to people with no knowledge of this terminology, I think it would just make things more complicated for this sort of simple guide. (How often do the snowdrops look like those below, with outer segments spread wide? Not very often here in 2017, or 2018).
- Gradually, I shall highlight those varieties that seem particularly garden worthy, at least in our garden. As with all groups of plants, nurseries rarely record this very important detail, but how vigorous or floriferous a variety turns out to be in our conditions, is what I’m interested in. Not simply how unusual a flower is. Since it’s when snowdrops flower en masse, that they really wow me.
To be fair to the nurseries, although some older named cultivars may have good anecdotal information on vigour, the rush to get the latest new form onto the market for serious galanthophiles, (probably by very carefully slicing or “twin-scaling” the bulbs to bulk them up more quickly), means that this feedback from gardeners on how they perform in the ground may simply not be available. Perhaps another very good reason for any budding galanthophile to avoid the latest, most expensive offerings? 
Sadly, a significant proportion of the named snowdrops which I’ve tried to grow, take so long to bulk up here that I don’t think they fall into this critical garden worthy category. Like G. elwesii ‘Peter Gatehouse’ below, at least in our garden:
- Some snowdrops remain unnamed or unidentified in these lists and increasingly there will be several with the WHSH prefix, which indicates that they are part of my Welsh Historic Snowdrop Hunt project. For more information on the ideas behind my WHSH project, please click here. I’m extremely grateful to all the wonderful people who have allowed me to visit, photograph and collect sample bulbs, and also given me the fascinating human stories that usually accompany “old” snowdrop sites. Most of these varieties do indeed fall into the garden worthy category – at least for this wetter part of the world.
- Anyone looking for expensive rarities or the latest named cultivars in this list will be disappointed. I have a very modest upper maximum price for buying a snowdrop bulb – not much more than a nice bottle of wine (and I don’t drink anyway). It really is more important for me to have reliable good doers which create an extended season of interest, and anyway, if a new variety is expensive and a good doer, then quite quickly it will become more affordable. The wonders of time and biological multiplication, (generally following the Fibonacci sequence), working well without any recourse here to the artificial “twin-scaling” of bulbs for propagation, which I’ve never had the time or enthusiasm to carry out. Yet.
- To make these records more manageable, I’ve somewhat arbitrarily grouped the different cultivars, or forms, into 3 seasons, and this initial list runs from the very early flowering types, sometimes in October, to the middle of January based on when the first flowers appear. To illustrate the fact that snowdrops are really very variable in height, flowering time, markings and form, all the flowers below are different varieties which were in bloom here on New Year’s day 2018, when many would think the snowdrop season hadn’t even begun.
Typically an early season individual flower will last for up to 6 or 7 weeks, but as a clump becomes larger, the spread of flowering times means at least a good 2 or even 3 months of flower interest is possible from a single cultivar.
Different bulbs at deeper locations in a clump will tend to flower later, and some cultivars frequently produce 2 flowers per bulb, at different times, which obviously extends the flowering season. Later flowering forms don’t tend to last in flower for as long, since temperatures are likely to be higher, and thus the flowers grow and mature faster, and the flowers are also more likely to be pollinated in warmer weather, with potential pollinators around. Such pollination obviously then brings their flowering to a fairly speedy close. 
- For those intrigued by some of the photo backgrounds, many of the named cultivars are growing in the retyred matrix part of our garden. There are also over a million bulbs (I would estimate) elsewhere in the garden growing in a more natural setting.
The tyres have proved to be an ideal setting for keeping named individual cultivars separate and easily labelled, and providing the moist but free draining conditions during active growth, as well as the shade and generally drier conditions through the summer months, which most snowdrops prefer. In nearly all the examples growing here, the snowdrops are succeeded by perennial plants, mostly chosen for their potential appeal as good nectar or pollen sources, for our diverse native insect population, later in the year.
The bulbs growing in the tyres receive a couple of scatterings of wood ash from our stoves during the year, a single scattering of seaweed meal in early winter, and get mulched with homemade, twice chopped (with our lawnmower to aid decomposition) leaf mould, as soon as possible after cutting back the other herbaceous perennials, in about late October or early November. 
This is around the time that the early season snowdrop shoots are nosing through the ground. In the rest of the garden the snowdrops get similar treatment, but just natural leaf fall, with no mulch. Fallen leaves are never removed from most of the garden, just the paths.
- Currently, named varieties are lifted and split about every 3 to 4 years within the tyres, once there are a few flowers per cluster, with the aim of eventually creating a bolder impression of what the varieties can look like en masse. Though like many gardening plans, one needs a patient approach towards this goal. Some cultivars are so slow to bulk up that this effect will probably never be seen. At least by me. This lifting and moving can only be done in winter or early spring, since the perennial plants prevent access during the bulb’s dormant period. Though as from 2019, I aim to complete this even earlier – from early December onwards, as soon as the cultivar’s bulb shoots begin to nose through. I’m convinced this stresses the plants less, since they have well developed roots, but minimal foliage to support.
Many snowdrop experts would say bulbs should only be moved when dormant, in summer, but provided I do it during a period of damp or wet weather, with minimal root disturbance, I only get a minor drop off in flowering the following year. However we are “blessed” here with a typical range of 1700 to 2100 mm of annual rainfall, which is much higher than many parts of the UK, and increasing over the winter months, in recent years. (G. ‘Grumpy’, below).
(Our snowdrop silk scarf design above – see separate web page for more details).
EARLY SEASON TO MID JANUARY
(For the many recent snowdrop seasons, quite a lot of of the varieties below will have opened first flowers in December or the first week of January at the latest – such seems to be the effect of milder winters, or more likely the impact of autumnal weather, priming the plant’s development. Several cultivars have now been shifted in 2020 into this early season group, though the 2020 season started with many forms flowering later by 2 weeks or so. This change will also make each season a little more equal in numbers. I tend not to be so interested in later flowering snowdrops, since the flowers inevitably don’t last for as long, and heading into March, there are other exciting things happening in the garden). I’m going to stop updating this page from 2022, since with nearly 350 varieties, it becomes a tedious task. Other than to say the current season is another slow-to-begin one.
G. reginae-olgae ‘Cambridge’. Acq. 2012. October 29th 2016 to December 9th. An autumn flowering species cultivar, which always flowers before the quite narrow leaves have developed. Not very vigorous here, but always the prompt for the start of the new snowdrop season. (October 9th 2017 – 1st to flower, October 20th 2018 – 1st to flower November 18th 2019 – 2nd to flower, November 25th 2020 – 5th to flower, DNF in 2021)
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G. reginae-olgae ‘Tilebarn Jamie’. Acq. 2013 as being a “vigorous form”, but produced its first flower here in 2019!. When it was the first snowdrop to flower. Frankly not really worth growing this type of snowdrop in our wet conditions, I think. Flowers well before the leaves appear, but otherwise an unremarkable flower. (November 10 th 2019 – 1st to flower, No flower, again, in 2020, or 2021.)
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G. elwesii form (November flowering) ex Bob Brown, of Cotswold Garden Flowers. Acq. late 2017. (October 16th 2017 – 2nd to flower 2017, no show in 2018, no show in 2019, or 2020, or 2021. Sadly a dud here.)
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G. plicatus ‘Three Ships’. Acq. 2012. A named species cultivar, with folded leaf edges (plicate) typical of the species. Sets seed. The name implies being around on Christmas morning, (from the carol – “I saw Three Ships…”) but in 2017 and 2018, it was nearly over by then. (November 25th 2016, November 8th 2017 – 4th to flower, November 20th 2018, 3rd to flower, December 6th 2019, 4th to flower, November 19th 2020, 2nd to flower, December 3rd 2021, 2nd to flower).
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G. elwesii ‘Mrs.Macnamara’ Acq. 2010. A named species cultivar. Early, vigorous, tall, floriferous and stands cold or snowy weather well. It even sets seed quite readily with hand pollination, or if you’re lucky enough to have on site honeybees, and they have a brief weather window when it’s in flower. (December 5th 2016,. November 12th 2017 – 5th to flower, December 2nd 2018, 6th to flower, December 14th 2019, 5th to flower, November 21st 2020, 3rd to flower, December 23rd 2021, 5th to flower).
Currently, probably our favourite snowdrop of all!
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G. elwesii ‘Peter Gatehouse’. Acq. 2014. A species cultivar, not very vigorous here, but possibly because planted too deeply initially. Has performed better after lifting and splitting. (December 7th 2016, October 29th 2017 – 3rd to flower, November 5th 2018, 2nd to flower, December 4th 2019, 3rd to flower. Split, November 25th 2020, 4th to flower, November 26th 2021, 1st to flower).
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G. elwesii ‘Gabriel’. Acq.2015. A species cultivar of the var. monostictus (single inner segment markings) form. Much earlier flowering in 2018 – (January 11th 2017, November 26th 2018 – 4th to flower; December 21st 2019 – 9th to flower. Split. December 18th 2020 – 26th to flower, December 12th 2021 – 3rd to flower). Possibly missed flower opening in 2017, because overlying foliage not cut back.
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G. plicatus ‘Florence Baker’. Acq. 2012. A cultivar of this species, though the leaves are quite thin compared with many G. plicatus forms in our clone. Not dramatic but anything this early is worth having. Quite vigorous and floriferous, but the tallish flowers tend to flop over, particularly after frosts. (December 14th 2016, December 17th 2017 – 15th to flower, December 22nd 2018 – 19th to flower; December 21st 2019 – 8th to flower, November 30th 2020 – 7th to flower, December 28th 2021 – 9th to flower).
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G. unknown, elwesii type ex CG STC. Acq 2017. A locally collected elwesii snowdrop, sometimes with small solid green tips to outer segments. 8th to flower in 2017. Takes quite a long time for the flowers to drop through 180 degrees. (December 4th 2017, December 12th 2018 –10th to flower, December 19th 2019 – 7th to flower, November 18th 2020 – 1st to flower, December 30th 2021 – 15th to flower).
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G. ‘Bess’. Acq. 2012. A single flowered hybrid. Very sturdy and erect flower held close to the pedicel, and very attractive thick blue – green leaves. Deep green inverted heart shaped marking, but flowers reluctant to open fully early in the season. (December 16th 2016, December 6th 2017 – 11th to flower, December 12th 2018 – 9th to flower, December 26th 2019 – 15th to flower, December 11th 2020 – 14th to flower, December 24 th 2021 – 7th to flower). One of our favourite top ten snowdrops. Early, sturdy and floriferous.
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G. ‘Sutton Courtenay’. Acq. 2014. A single flowered hybrid, with flowers hanging attractively like lanterns. Characteristic olive green ovaries and interesting inner segment markings, though not as vigorous as some. (December 17th 2016, December 5th 2017 – 8th to flower, (split), December 19th 2018 – 16th to flower; December 24th 2019 – 13th to flower, December 2nd 2020 – 10th to flower, January 3rd 2022 – 27th to flower).
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G. elwesii ‘Kyre Park’. Acq. 2016. A quite short form of the species, when the flower emerges.(NF 2017. December 17th 2018. 12th to flower, December 25th 2019 – 14th to flower, December 14th – 20th to flower, December 26th 2021 – 8th to flower). 
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G. elwesii ‘Fieldgate Prelude’. Acq. 2013. A cultivar of this species, a seedling of G. ‘Mrs. Macnamara’ with interesting markings, but not as vigorous here as the parent, and with finer leaves. (December 18th 2016, December 22nd 2017 – 22nd to flower, December 19th 2018 – 17th to flower; December 24th 2019 – 11th to flower, November 30th 2020 – 8th to flower, December 24th – 6th to flower).
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G. ‘Castlegar’. Acq. 2012. A very short single flowered hybrid, when first emerged, with the leaves hardly obvious, yet quite chunky flowers on short pedicels. Quite a thin and distinctive splayed V shaped inner segment marking. Most bulbs here seem to produce a second, later flower scape, extending the season of flower considerably. The flowers do extend in length as they mature and are long lasting. (December 20th 2016, December 4th in 2017 – 6th to flower, November 30th 2018 – 5th to flower, December 14th 2019 – 6th to flower, November 28th 2020 – 6th to flower, December 20th 2021 – 4th to flower).
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G. nivalis ‘Melvillei’. Acq. 2012. One of the tallest forms of the native species, and always our earliest G. nivalis form to flower. But the overall effect is of quite tall, small thin flowers held a long way above the leaves.(December 21st 2016 – 10th to flower, December 17th 2017 – 13th to flower, December 17th 2018 – 13th to flower, December 26th 2019 – 16th to flower, December 18th 2020 – 28th to flower, December 30th 2021 – 17th to flower). 
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G. elwesii ‘Zwanenburg’. Acq. 2012. A sturdy cultivar of this species, although the flowers tend to flop after snow. Sometimes with 2 flowers per scape, and very wide leaves. (December 22nd 2016, December 31st 2017 – 41st to flower, January 2nd 2019 – 55th flower, January 8th 2020 – 54th to flower, January 5th 2021 – 50th to flower, January 15th 2022 – 64th to flower).
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G. elwesii ‘Fenstead End’. Acq. 2014. An attractive cultivar of this species, with narrower leaves and strong inner segment markings, but not very vigorous here. (December 24th 2016, December 20th 2017 – 18th to flower, split. December 22nd 2018 – 20th to flower, January 8th 2020 – 49th to flower, December 2nd 2020 – 9th to flower, December 30th 2021 – 14th to flower). 
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G. ‘Atkinsii’. Acq. 2003. A single flowered hybrid, with very tall upright stems and pear drop, hanging flowers on short pedicels. (December 24th 2016, December 17th 2017 – 17th to flower, December 22nd 2018 – 28th to flower, December 29th 2019 – 25th to flower, December 27th 2020 – 27th to flower, January 1st 2022 – 25th to flower).
An over 100 year old hybrid, and a very firm favourite snowdrop. In our top 5. One of the very first unusual forms I bought, which got me hooked on the delights of growing different snowdrop cultivars. We now have hundreds dotted around the garden
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G. woronowii. Acq. in 2009, but moved several times, since not thriving in deeper shade. A smallish species with pretty flowers with a slightly olive green tinge and characteristic glossy green leaves, which like many such species don’t really excel here. (December 26th 2016, December 21st 2017 – 21st to flower, December 24th 2018 – 26th to flower, January 3rd 2020 – 32nd to flower, December 22nd 2020 – 33rd to flower, January 1st 2022 – 23rd to flower).
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G. plicatus ‘Colossus’. Acq. 2012. Wide leaves, and usually 2 flower scapes per bulb, extending the season of interest. Bought as this cultivar, but ours have slightly atypical markings, and it’s not particularly large in our garden either. However it’s growing beneath Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’, which is quite a thug like plant with a very vigorous root system. A vigorous, early, favourite plicatus form. (December 26th 2016, December 16th 2017 – 13th to flower, December 22nd 2018 – 23rd to flower, split, December 28th 2019 – 19th to flower, December 16th 2020 – 23rd to flower, December 31st 2021 – 22nd to flower).
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G. ‘Ding Dong’. Acq. 2012. A single flowered hybrid, unfortunately quite slow to bulk up with us. One of our favourites. Early, long outer segments and very distinctive, bold inner segment markings, with very long lasting flowers. (December 26th 2016, December 17th 2017 – 16th to flower, December 22nd 2018 – 22nd to flower, December 29th 2019 – 23rd to flower, December 11th 2020 – 13th to flower, January 1st 2022 – 24th to flower). 
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G. ‘Lapwing’. Acq. 2012. A short, single flowered hybrid, with flowers that open quite readily, even in gloomy damp conditions. One of our favourites, with distinctive inner segment markings. (December 26th 2016, December 22nd 2017 – 25th to flower, December 18th 2018 – 14th to flower, December 29th 2019 – 26th to flower, December 19th 2020 – 30th to flower, December 30th 2021– 16th to flower).
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G. ‘Reverend Hailstone’. Acq. 2013. A reliable tall, strong, single flowered reliable hybrid. Sometimes double headed flowers. An early flowering favourite. (December 26th 2016, December 4th 2017 – 7th to flower, December 19th 2018 – 15th to flower; December 23rd 2019 – 10th to flower, December 10th 2020 – 12th to flower, December 29th 2021 – 13th to flower)
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G. elwesii ‘Long ‘drop’. Acq. 2014. A really lovely cultivar of this species of snowdrop, with curving spathes, over flowers on long pedicels. (December 26th 2016, December 22nd 2017 – 23rd to flower, split; January 6th 2019 – 67th to flower, January 7th 2020 – 45th to flower, December 24th 2020 – 39th to flower).
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G. ‘Lime Tree’. Acq. 2012. Very similar to G. ‘Atkinsii’, but flowers aren’t quite as strong, and also flowers a little earlier than the G. ‘Atkinsii’ in a nearby tyre. (December 26th 2016 – 20th to flower, December 21st 2017 – 20th to flower, December 22nd 2018 – 21st to flower, January 3rd 2020 – 31st to flower, December 14th 2020 – 17th to flower, December 14th 2020 – 14th to flower, January 2nd 2022 – 26th to flower).
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G. ‘John Gray’. Acq. 2011. A large flowered single hybrid, whose main failing here is the weight of the flowers, which often pulls them down to nearly ground level. (December 28th 2016, December 20th 2017 – 19th to flower, December 19th 2018 -18th to flower; December 24th 2019 – 13th to flower, December 14th 2020 – 18th to flower, December 29th 2021 – 12th to flower).
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G. ‘Acton Pigot No. 3’. Acq. 2013. A single flowered hybrid, with slightly olive green coloured ovaries of a distinctive shape, and quite pointed outer segments. The flower stems tend to flop a little, which is a bit of a failing here, but an attractive early snowdrop. (December 29th 2016, December 5th 2017 – 10th to flower, December 13th 2018 – 11th to flower, split, January 1st 2020 – 29th to flower, December 13th 2020 – 15th to flower, January 7th 2022 – 35th to flower).
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G. elwesii hiemalis group ‘Donald Sim’s Early’. Acq. 2019. Supposed to be very early flowering, so either it’ll speed up in future years, or it isn’t what it’s meant to be. Clearly took a long time to settle in – (February 2nd 2020 – 240th to flower, 2021 DNF, December 30th 2021 – 18th to flower).
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G. plicatus ‘Henham No. 1’. Acq. 2012. A cultivar of the species from the same site in East Anglia as G. plicatus ‘Three Ships’, which is a little fickle in our conditions. Just 1 flower after 5 years, but much better after moving in 2018. Usually produces 2 scapes per bulb and now becoming an impressive early favourite. (January 25th 2017. December 24th 2017 – 51st to flower, December 23rd 2018 – 25th to flower – moved, after producing 5 flowers in 2018, January 1st 2020 – 30th to flower, December 18th 2020 – 27th to flower, December 28th 2021 –10th to flower).
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G. ‘Desdemona’? (TLO 3). Acq? An unknown Greatorex double, vigorous and quite early, but shortish flower stems and it takes a long time for the flowers to open properly. The leaves tend to splay, particularly their upper sections. Faint green lines on outer segment tips. Flower similar to G. ‘Lavinia’, but ovary is chunkier and flowers much earlier. (January 3rd 2018, 53rd to flower; January 5th 2020, 37th to flower, December 16th 2020 – 24th to flower, December 31st 2021 – 20th to flower).
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G. elwesii ‘Elmley Lovett’. Acq. 2019. An early flowering form. (January 3rd 2020 – 34th to flower, January 13th 2021 – 97th to flower, 2022 DNF).
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G. Unknown ‘Keith’s Corker’ ex CGL. Acq. 2017. An impressive, large flowered, large leaved, probable elwesii X plicatus hybrid snowdrop, very kindly donated from the late Keith Brown’s wonderful Cilgwyn Lodge, Carmarthenshire garden. But possibly originally ex ‘Woodpeckers’ garden in Warwickshire – a murky history, and no galanthophile yet seems to recognise this snowdrop. Green tipped outers and one leaf with plicated (folded) leaf edges. Already one of our really favourite snowdrops which ticks lots of boxes – early, vigorous, wonderfully marked flowers, which are large too. Hence my suggested name, which Keith approved of! (December 22nd 2017 – 26th to flower, January 6th 2019 – 73rd to flower, January 6th 2020 – 41st to flower, December 27th 2020 – 41st to flower, January 11th 2022 – 49th to flower.)
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G. elwesii ‘Hiemalis Group’. Acq. 2014. (as G. caucasicus HG) A small flower with attractive single and nearly split inner segment green mark, as most Hiemalis forms exhibit. Not very vigorous here. (December 30th 2016, Moved, then no flower in 2017 or 2018. January 8th 2020 – 52nd to flower, December 14th 2020 – 19th to flower, January 6th 2022 – 33rd to flower).
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G. elwesii ‘Watlington Greenman’. Acq. 2019. An early form with solid green inner markings, and faint green tips to outers. It may be too early to assess, but in 2019 this was remarkable in opening the petals wide in warm but very overcast damp conditions, when all other flowers remained closed. Few other snowdrops do this here, perhaps G. ‘Lapwing’, coming closest. (December 28th 2019 – 20th to flower, December 29th 2020 – 45th to flower BUT!! 2021, 2022 DNF). 
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G. elwesii ‘Frinton Advent’. Acq. 2017. An early and quite short form of this species. (December 25th 2017 – 35th to flower. December 7th 2018 – 6th to flower (split) , December 29th 2019 – 24th to flower, December 20th 2020 – 32nd to flower, December 28th 2021 – 10th to flower).
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G. nivalis ‘Llo ‘n’ Green’. Acq. 2015. A French cultivar of the native species, with 5 or so, attractive faint green lines, on the outer segments. (December 18th 2016 – 11th to flower, (split), December 31st 2017, December 25th 2018 – 30th to flower, January 6th 2020 – 44th to flower, December 17th 2020 – 25th to flower, January 8th 2022 – 36th to flower). 
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G. ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’. Acq. 2011. An old (1940’s), short, and very neat, early double flowered hybrid, with distinctive split inner segment markings. (December 31st 2016, December 26th 2017 – 36th to flower, December 24th 2018 – 27th to flower. moved/split, January 6th 2020 – 43rd to flower, January 9th 2021 – 65th to flower, January 11th 2022 – 53rd to flower.).
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G. rizehensis. Acq. 2012 (3 bulbs.). A bright green leaved, with an obvious central line/depression on each leaf, a quite short species, which seeds well in a good year. (December 31st 2016, December 22nd 2017 – 24th to flower, December 25th 2018 – 36th to flower, January 9th 2020 – 58th to flower, December 23rd 2020 – 37th to flower, January 4th 2022 – 31st to flower).
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G. ‘Sir Herbert Maxwell’. Acq. 2015. A vigorous, single flowered hybrid with nicely rounded large flowers. (December 31st 2017, December 25th 2018 – 34th to flower, split, January 5th 2020 – 36th to flower, January 23rd 2021 – 47th to flower, January 11th 2022 – 51st to flower.)
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G. ‘Richard Ayres’. Acq. 2014. Our second double snowdrop to flower, and after settling, 8 years after acquisition, it’s becoming a favourite, tidy double, named for the then head gardener at Anglesey Abbey, where it was discovered! However there were no traces of any leaves in 2015, before returning in 2016, though not flowering until 2018, when it produced 3 flowers from many bulbs, and offsets. A shortish, double snowdrop flower. (December 27th 2018 – 38th to flower, split, January 8th 2020 – 50th to flower, December 22nd 2020 – 34th to flower, January 9th 2022 – 39th to flower).
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G. nivalis WHSH ML GF CL 1. Acq 2016. The first single form to flower from this site, which yielded a number of examples, some of which may have been relocated from a garden in Surrey. This early form has short lived flowers. (January 6th 2019, January 5th 2020 – 39th to flower, January 11th 2021 – 71st to flower, January 15th 2022 – 70th to flower). 
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G. WHSH ML GF FLP. Acq 2016. An un-named, very vigorous, tidy double snowdrop, probably a Greatorex type hybird, most similar to ‘G. Lavinia’ with staining of the inner green marking up towards the petal’s base. Amazing root systems on even small bulbs – I suspect it may have multiple chromosomes. An intriguing origin for this snowdrop, originally from the renowned late galanthophile Ruby Baker’s garden in Surrey, as a swap given to, and relocated locally by the late, remarkable, Margaret Bide, to her mill gardens. One of our favourite double snowdrops. (January 7th 2018 – 70th to flower, December 28th 2018 – 39th to flower., January 12th 2020 – 83rd to flower, January 9th 2021 – 63rd to flower, January 11th 2022 – 53rd to flower). 
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G. nivalis ‘Anglesey Abbey’. Acq. 2012. A distinctive variety of the species with bright green leaves, and only very faint inner segment markings. Not at all vigorous here. (January 1st 2017, December 23rd 2017 – 29th to flower, December 29th 2018 – 40th to flower, January 12th 2020 – 77th to flower, January 6th 2022 – 32nd to flower).
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G. plicatus type or hybrid. (RB YI4). Acq. 2011. A small leaved, short form, with narrow plicated leaves. (January 1st 2017, January 1st 2018 – 48th to flower, December 22nd 2018 – 24th to flower, January 17th 2020 – 115th to flower, January 7th 2021 – 59th to flower, January 22nd 2022 – 110th to flower).
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G. plicatus ‘Sabine’. Acq 2018. An early, quite recently named form of the species, with pleasing proportions. (December 25th 2018 – 33rd to flower, January 3rd 2020 – 33rd to flower, December 13th 2020 – 16th to flower, December 30th 2021 – 19th to flower). 
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G. ‘Lyn’. Acq. 2012. A single flowered hybrid, very similar to G. ‘Atkinsii’, and G. ‘Limetree’ with elegant long teardrop flowers. More vigorous than G. ‘Limetree’, but usually a few days later than ‘Limetree’. (January 5th 2017, December 23rd 2017 – 28th to flower, December 25th 2018 – 35th to flower, December 27th 2019 – 18th to flower, December 19th 2020 – 29th to flower, December 31st 2021 – 21st to flower).
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G. ‘Galatea’. Acq. 2012. A single flowered, dating from the 1880’s hybrid. Long pedicel, and similar to G. ‘Magnet’, but flowers earlier, and a slightly different angle to the inverted green inner segment marking. One of our favourite snowdrops. (January 6th 2017, December 28th 2017 – 37th to flower; January 7th 2019 – 87th to flower, January 10th 2020 – 66th to flower, December 27th 2020 – 40th to flower, January 19th 2022 – 81st to flower).
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G. ‘Not Benhall Beauty’. Acquired? A well proportioned, single flowered hybrid. Possibly an early seedling here of G. ‘Benhall Beauty’. More vigorous than BB, and becoming a favourite. (January 7th 2017 (split), January 7th 2019, January 9th 2020 – 59th to flower, January 11th 2021 – 70th to flower, January 9th 2022 – 40th to flower).
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G. ‘Jaquenetta’. Acq. 2010. One of the first of the ‘Greatorex’ doubles to flower here, with fat buds, large flowers with faint green tips to the outer segments, small ovaries and wide blue green leaves. (January 7th 2017, December 23rd 2017 – 30th to flower. December 25th 2018 – 29th to flower. Split in ground, January 1st 2020 – 28th to flower, December 23rd 2020 – 35th to flower, January 11th 2022 – 47th to flower).
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G. nivalis ‘Nothing Special’ ? (12-2). Slightly uncertain about name, but fairly distinctive attractive rounded flowers which emerge on tall stems above short foliage initially, a bit like G. ‘Castlegar’. (January 8th 2017, December 22nd 2017 – 27th to flower. December 25th 2018 – 32nd to flower, December 30th 2019 – 27th to flower, January 16th 2022 – 67th to flower).
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G. ‘Shropshire Queen’. Acq. 2015. A vigorous, floriferous, bold and tall single flowered hybrid. Fast becoming a new favourite. (January 8th 2017, (split), January 5th 2018 – 65th to flower. December 31st 2018 – 48th to flower, January 6th 2020 – 42nd to flower, December 27th 2020 – 42nd to flower, January 11th 2022 – 50th to flower).
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G. ‘Benhall Beauty’. Acq. 2010. Quite narrow leaves, and a tall single flowered hybrid with basal mark blurred, and quite long slim outer segments. One of our favourite snowdrops. (January 8th 2017, January 3rd 2018 – 53rd to flower; January 7th 2019 – 89th to flower, part split January 18th 2020 – 135th to flower- part split, January 12th 2021 – 79th to flower, January 19th 2022 – 84th to flower). 
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G. ‘Fly Fishing’. Acq. 2016. A single flowered hybrid, with a lovely flower form on a very long pedicel. Seemed to be quite vigorous so far, until disturbed! (January 8th 2016, December 17th 2017 – 14th to flower, split. December 10th 2018 – 8th to flower, December 27th 2019 – 17th to flower, December 10th 2020 – 11th to flower, January 7th 2022 – 34th to flower). 
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G. ‘Byfield Special’. Acq. 2012. Single flowered hybrid, with well rounded flowers on long arching pedicel. (January 9th 2017, January 3rd 2018 – 54th to flower; January 4th 2019, January 8th 2020 – 55th to flower, January 8th 2021 – 61st, January 18th 2022 – 72nd to flower).
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G. nivalis WHSH LDFS 1. Acq 2017. A local, quite tall and early flowering form of the native species, which develops a long pedicel as it matures. One of the earliest flowering local origin snowdrops from my WHSH in most years, from a population of variants of which several tend to flower early. (December 25th 2017, December 25th 2018 as well – 31st to flower, January 7th 2020 – 47th to flower, January 5th 2021 – 52nd to flower, January 11th 2022 – 52nd to flower). 
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G. ‘Brenda Troyle’. Acq. 2012. Single flowered hybrid, one or more leaf margins explicative, short and quite chubby flowers, with occasional green splashes on outer segment tips. Quite vigorous. (January 9th 2017, December 24th 2017 – 32nd to flower, December 26th 2018 – 37th to flower, December 28th 2019 – 22nd to flower, December 16th 2020 – 23rd to flower, January 4th 2022 – 29th to flower).
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G. plicatus ‘Edinburgh Ketton’. Acq. 2014. A form of G. plicatus. Often has 2 flower scapes per bulb (January 10th 2017, December 31st 2017 – 43rd to flower; 2018 – Split, January 7th 2019, January 10th 2020 – 64th to flower, January 7th 2021 – 57th to flower, January 20th 2022 – 94th to flower). 
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G. ‘Kildare’. Acq. 2012. A single flowered hybrid, with quite long green markings on the fairly narrow outer segments. Quite vigorous. One of our favourite snowdrops. (January 11th 2017, January 19th 2018 – 134th to flower, 2019 – NR, January 15th 2020 – 101st to flower, January 11th 2021 – 68th to flower, January 22nd 2022 – 106th to flower). 
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G. nivalis WHSH P Y C KWY Acq.2016. Local origin, shortish species variant, one of the earliest WHSH G. nivalis forms, with flowers appearing fairly close to the ground, from near Kidwelly. Very vigorous here. A garden favourite snowdrop. (January 11th 2017, December 30th 2017 – 40th to flower, December 30th 2018 – 44th to flower, January 12th 2020 – 89th to flower, January 12th 2021 – 85th to flower, January 17th 2022 – 71st to flower).
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G. nivalis WHSH G Y AF. Acq. 2015. A local, mid height, form of the native species. Vigorous. (January 13th 2017, January 4th 2018 – 62nd to flower, December 31st 2018 – 47th to flower, January 9th 2020 – 59th to flower, January 13th 2021 – 93rd to flower, January 20th 2022 – 95th to flower).
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G. nivalis flore pleno WHSH FT C FLP. Acq.2018. A very short form of the double snowdrop from an ancient estate dating back to 1100’s on the English border. Flowers usually appear close to ground level when first open, before growing taller. (January 3rd 2019 – 58th to flower, January 15th 2020 – 105th to flower, January 26th 2022 – 140th to flower). 
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G. nivalis WHSH GL A. Acq. 2014. A vigorous, quite tall local variant of the native species. A favourite bold, local form. (January 13th 2017, January 3rd 2018 – 51st to flower; January 7th 2019, January 14th 2020 – 98th to flower, January 11th 2021 – 70th to flower, January 13th 2022 – 58th to flower).
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G. nivalis WHSH BDL 1. Acq 2016. A local variety of the native species from a site with the widest variation in snowdrops yet encountered in my WHSH project, in spite of having a (relatively) low total number of clumps. (January 1st 2018 – 49th to flower. January 8th 2019; January 11th 2020 – 71st to flower, January 13th 2021 – 94th to flower, January 19th 2022 – 83rd to flower).
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G. Unknown/ un-named snowdrop. 32-1 Acq.? A very vigorous snowdrop with large bulbs and strong flowers. A favourite form. (January 13th 2017, January 13th 2018; January 7th 2019, January 13th 2020 – 90th to flower, January 22nd 2022 – 105th to flower).
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G. nivalis WHSH PYB D. Acq. 2013. Local, mid height and early, vigorous variant of native species, quickly producing good clumps. One of our favourite snowdrops. (January 13th 2017, January 13th 2018; January 3rd 2019 – 60th to flower, January 11th 2020 – 69th to flower, January 13th 2021 – 99th to flower, January 20th 2022 – 98th to flower). 
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G. ‘Honeysuckle Cottage’. Acq. 2013. A single flowered hybrid of G. nivalis and G. plicatus. Very tall and upright, and stands out for this reason. (January 14th 2017 (January 10th 2018 – 75th to flower, split. January 11th 2019 – 119th to flower. January 17th 2020 – 118th to flower, January 12th 2021 – 83rd to flower, January 19th 2022 – 85th to flower).