Experts say this could be a bumper year for one of the highlights of the gardening calendar for many… the welcome appearance of the first flowers of the season. Banks of snowdrops not only make for a spectacular sight but are also a sign that warmer weather is on its way. For a fix of the white stuff, here are a few suggestions for top snowdrop spotting.
A snowdrop stroll in a ‘lost garden’
A 450-year-old garden abandoned to nature for 50 years before being restored over the last two decades, Lincolnshire’s Easton Walled Gardens are famed for its drifts of snowdrops. Once described by former US president Franklin D Roosevelt as “A dream of Nirvana…almost too good to be true”, the restored historic garden has become a visitor favourite for its snowdrop displays, which this year runs 14 February to 31 March. The snowdrop trail, cascades down towards the River Witham, with a winding path through ash trees.
Britain’s most popular snowdrop walk?
The gardens of 18th century country house Rode Hall, near Stoke-on Trent, come alive each February with more than 70 varieties of snowdrops, creating one of the most spectacular displays in the Northwest of England. So, it’s no surprise that Rode’s Snowdrop Walks have earned a national reputation as among the best. Visitors can walk along paths amidst carpets of white flowers on a mile-long route, with options for longer or shorter walks. As well as cascading snowdrops in the Old Wood and drifts of snowdrops in the borders of the formal garden, the Colonel’s Walk is where some of the rarest varieties can be seen.
Winter riverside wandering
Historic Mottisfont House, art gallery and estate offers the perfect picturesque destination any time of year, but from late January, snowdrops are the star attraction of its river walk in the garden. In recent years thousands of bulbs have been planted at this National Trust property in Hampshire, with woodchip paths winding through the snowy clusters and along the banks of the river.
East Yorkshire’s snowdrop sensations
Visitors looking to brighten up a wintery walk are spoilt for choice in East Yorkshire. Details of eight of the best are now available in a handy online guide from Visit East Yorkshire, including carpets of white in the woodlands at Burton Agnes Hall and a chance to see almost 100 varieties growing in the grounds at Burnby Hall Gardens on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. Meanwhile, Sledmere House – one of region’s finest country houses –is renowned for sparkling displays of snowdrops in the 18th century walled garden.
Explore a plant pageant at this Elizabethan gem
Lincolnshire’s Doddington Hall – an Elizabethan manor house with 400 years of unbroken family ownership – is once again hosting a pageant of spring bulbs throughout the Gardens. Beginning in early February with snowdrops and winter aconites, Cyclamen coum, and Crocus tommasinianus, it then continues through March and early April with drifts of Lent lilies and a collection of heritage daffodils, including rare Edwardian varieties, and snake’s head fritillaries until May.