Snowdrops at the RHS Gardens

It’s always exciting to see the first snowdrops (Galanthus) peeping through the earth on a walk around the garden in late winter. These much-loved blooms are a welcome sign that spring is on the way. There are plenty of snowdrops to be found at the RHS Gardens...

RHS Garden Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire

A family look at snowdrops in the Woodland in winter at RHS Garden Harlow Carr

Take a late winter stroll through the Woodland at RHS Garden Harlow Carr to see large swathes of the common snowdrop Galanthus nivalis lighting up the woodland floor. 90,000

These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes.

Along the Winter Walk, look out for early favourites such as Galanthus ‘Castlegar’, a large-flowering

Gardeners often use the word variety when referring to a specific plant, but the correct botanical term is 'cultivar'. Whichever word you use, it means a distinctive plant or plants, given a specific cultivar name and usually bred to enhance certain characteristics, such as flower or fruit size, colour, flavour or fragrance, plant size, hardiness, disease resistance, etc. Additionally, it is worth knowing that, botanically, variety has another meaning - it refers to a naturally-occurring distinct plant that only has slight differences in its looks. For example, Malva alcea var. fastigiata differs from typical plants by having an upright habit.

Head into the Alpine House to warm up among our pick of seasonal alpine plants, including snowdrops and Primula allionii, one of the earliest primroses to flower. The snowdrop collection has been re-organised, making it easier to spot differences between cultivars. Favourites include Galanthus ‘Greenfinch’ for its green brush-stroke markings on the outer petals and beautiful yellow-coloured ‘Primrose Warburg’.

RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Essex

Close-up of Galanthus ‘Magnet’

Nestled amongst the plants of RHS Hyde Hall’s Winter Garden are pockets of snowdrop Galanthus elwesii, with its large, pristine white flowers and glaucous foliage. Around 15,000 bulbs were originally planted in 2017 and have now multiplied to give an impressive display. The Winter Garden is a feast for the senses, bursting with colour from radiant stems,

Bark is the outermost layer of woody plants (trees, shrubs and woody climbers). It is several cells thick and provides protection against physical damage, disease and environmental stresses. Bark comes in a wide variety of colours and patterns, and these can help gardeners when identifying plants. The fissures and crevices of bark on older plants also creates valuable habitat for many garden creatures as well as lichens and small plants.

RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey

A couple walk past a border of snowdrops by Oakwood in winter at RHS Garden Wisley

At RHS Garden Wisley, enjoy generous drifts of Galanthus nivalis on Battleston Hill and in Oakwood. In recent years, the team have been lifting and dividing this favourite bulb to create carpets of white flowers that flow through the woodland areas. There are further patches of snowdrops to seek out around the Rock Garden and Winter Walk.
 
In the Alpine Display House, admire a selection of rare and unusual snowdrops in pots. Presented in raised beds, it’s a perfect opportunity to get a closer look at their diminutive blooms and delicate markings. The display is refreshed every day from a collection of around 250 Galanthus cultivars, so there is always something special to see.
 
Discover more stars of the season along Wisley’s Winter Walk. Breathe in the sweet perfume of the honeysuckle Lonicera fragrantissima, and enjoy the vibrant stems of dogwoods (Cornus) in fiery shades of red, orange and yellow. Follow the self-guided route around the walk to find even more seasonal wonders.

RHS Garden Rosemoor, North Devon

Snowdrops by the Lake in winter at RHS Garden Rosemoor

Snowdrops are a major feature of the Winter Garden and Lake at RHS Garden Rosemoor. Delicate drifts of Galanthus ‘Atkinsii’ can be found nodding among the red stems of Salix alba ‘Britzensis’ and Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’, while other snowdrop planting partners include grass-like Carex morrowii ‘Fisher’s Form’ and Acorus gramineus ‘Variegatus’.
 
Also look out for Narcissus ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’, an early daffodil flowering away in our Cottage Garden – the first of many daffodils that herald the arrival of spring at Rosemoor.
 
Join us for Rosemoor’s Celebration of Snowdrops (1 – 12 February) as we celebrate these early harbingers of spring. There will be free guided walks around the garden, highlighting snowdrops and early spring-flowering bulbs, and a snowdrop trail for families to follow.

RHS Garden Bridgewater, Salford

Close-up of Galanthus nivalis

No winter garden would be complete without snowdrops, and our newest garden RHS Garden Bridgewater is no exception. Recent plantings of Galanthus nivalis flower on the banks of the yew circle in Lower Middle Wood, while nodding clusters of Galanthus woronowii flowering in the Community Coppice provide a link to Bridgewater’s past. These bulbs were discovered during the garden’s restoration and

Moving a plant from one growing position to another, often from a pot to its final spot in the garden.

There are more snowdrops to enjoy in the Bee and Butterfly Garden including the elegant old

A hybrid plant is the offspring produced by cross-pollinating one specific cultivar with another different cultivar. This process of cross-pollination, rather than pollination between plants of the same cultivar, generally creates stronger, healthier, improved offspring, said to have ‘hybrid vigour’.

Elsewhere, Iris reticulata cultivars ‘Pauline’ and ‘Alida’ add splashes of early colour to the Long Borders, and winter-flowering shrubs such as Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet) and Cornus mas bring fragrance to the Chinese Water Garden and woodland.