Snowdrops spread quite fast so it is worthwhile dividing clumps every few years to increase their rate of multiplication. Divide into clusters of three to five bulbs if you are pressed for time and singling bulbs will take too long. Our volunteers find a local patch of snowdrops and, at least once a week throughout winter and spring, watch as they grow. When the petals have opened just enough to see inside the flower, they record the snowdrop’s ‘ first flowering’ date on Nature’s Calendar. The sightings are displayed on a live map, so why not have a look to see if snowdrops have been seen flowering where you live? What do snowdrop flowering records tell us? Snowdrops are not hungry plants but applying a potassium-rich general fertiliser at about 50g per square metre in winter is helpful. Included in the chapter on snowdrop art are many historical images from the earliest-known snowdrop woodcut in Dodoens' European Herbal, 1568 to more recent 19th-century images. No other author on snowdrops has attempted such an extensive description of snowdrop art over the centuries, including advice from Jacquie Hibbert on how to paint snowdrops, or has described the evolution of this art form for snowdrops.

Snowdrops are known as the 'harbingers of spring' at a time when there is little else in flower in the garden to brighten the dull winter months. No one should be without these dainty white gems which can symbolize innocence, purity and hope. The author describes all known snowdrop species, the cultivation of garden-worthy varieties and their naming as well as their history in early European and English literature. He includes the earliest reference to the English word 'Snowe Dropps' in 1615, preceding the previous earliest reference to 'Snow drops' in 1633. Like this article? Sign up to our newsl etter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. The leaves are vital to build up the bulbs' food reserves and allow new daughter bulblets to form, so never trim or tie into bunches.

Gardeners who are in a hurry to have lots of snowdrops, but don't want excessive expenses, can master the rather technical art of 'twin-scaling'. This is where bulbs are cut into several, two-scale segments and induced to form numerous little bulblets on the base of the scales, in a bag of damp vermiculite. Snowdrops are relatively trouble-free but where disease occurs a cure is seldom possible. Unfortunately, they must be discarded immediately to reduce the risk to the remaining bulbs. The book concludes with a useful index of all 22 recognized species and over 100 varieties with reference to international collections. Our citizen science project, Nature’s Calendar, is all about phenology - the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals from year to year. Anyone can volunteer, anywhere in the UK to help us record seasonal changes in their area, including when snowdrops first flower. The data recorded helps us to better understand the effects of climate change and other patterns in the natural environment.

Dried out snowdrop bulbs are notoriously hard to establish, but newly lifted bulbs can be stored in trays of moist, peat-free potting medium until late August, where re-planting straight away is not possible. The sequence of flowering of different snowdrop varieties from October to March is described, including the autumn-flowering Queen Olga's snowdrop. This diary format of their emergence will help gardeners learn how there can be snowdrops flowering for six months of the year. The book is illustrated with a stunning selection of close-up images of different varieties of snowdrops to help aid the identification of these dainty flowers.

Welford Park

Lifting and dividing while in leaf, ideally after flowering, is more convenient and less likely to be overlooked than waiting for the ideal moment. This is generally in May when there are so many other matters to distract the gardener.