The Garden House team now hope the snowdrop collection will become a nationally recognised collection, though many varieties remain yet to be formally identified.

Dineke Logtenberg raises all their snowdrops in the soil in a private garden, without the use of any pesticides. Horse manure is the only fertiliser used. Sadly, Dineke Logtenberg still uses peat in the potting mix for all their potted snowdrops. A Calendar of Snowdrop Garden Openings & Snowdrop Events They don’t seem to favour one particular species specifically and there are good examples in nivalis, plicatus, elwesii and hybrids, so there should be a variant that will grow well in most peoples’ gardens. Some good examples – Cowhouse Green

Student Programme

Visitors will be able to take gentle exercise in the gardens, exploring the stunning displays of snowdrops, which are bigger than ever this year, in a covid secure, socially distanced manner. This is perhaps the most willing snowdrop I grow, when it comes to bulking up, forming sizeable clumps of early flowers. It was spotted in the late 1990s by Matt Bishop, while he was visiting John Morley’s private garden. Galanthus are potted in pure steamed compost by Staudengärtnerei Jentsch. No peat is used. Dutch Snowdrop Nurseries De Boshhoeve

The house and gardens that form The Garden House were bought in the 1940s by Lionel and Katharine Fortescue. Over the next 40 years the Fortescues created a garden which was – and continues to be – viewed as one of the finest in Britain. Crocus say that their snowdrop bulbs may have been grown in peat-free compost but most of their suppliers use peat. Excited snowdrop enthusiasts are set to travel across the UK to a corner of Devon to see one of the best collections of snowdrops in the world burst into fragrance and colour at The Garden House’s first ever Snowdrop Festival, which takes place from January to March. Peter Nyssen told me that their snowdrops are grown on commercial farms where there could be trace element of peat naturally in the soil. This company send out dry bulbs in autumn. The snowdrops that Peter Nyssen sell ‘in the green’ are also dug from the soil and sold bare root. Now, together with the original Matt Bishop collection, there are nearly 350 named cultivars and species of snowdrop - some rarely seen in open gardens.

Visitors will be able to take exercise in the gardens, exploring the stunning displays of snowdrops, which are bigger than ever this year, in a Covid-secure, socially distanced manner. Mac Plants offer snowdrops for sale, including Galanthus elwesii ‘Fred’s Giant’, Galanthus ‘Desdemona’, and Galanthus ‘Little Ben’. You can view the full range of snowdrops available, here. Morlas Plants This is one of the very best early snowdrops. The pale grey foliage indicates a preference for a brighter position and I find my clump thrives on the sunnier side of an apricot. Coolplants grow their snowdrops in garden soil. However, Coolplants’ potted plants (sold at plant markets) have a small amount of peat in their substrate. Coolplants’ used potting soil with peat, bark, sand, and grit is reused after steaming. This nursery produce their own leafmold on a semi-professional scale. German Snowdrop Nurseries Staudengärtnerei Jentsch