February Plant of the Month
It’s felt like a long, cold winter this year and this particularly grey February has inhibited many early flowering plants from making an appearance yet. However, the reliable common snowdrop has been flowering for a while and reminds us that spring is round the corner.
Common snowdrops are among the first spring blooms to decorate woodland floors, meadows, and gardens with a carpet of white from January to March. They are bulbous perennials that gradually bulk up to form clumps. Smooth, narrow, greyish-green leaves are topped with nodding white flowers that jiggle around in a breeze.
Galanthus nivalis grows in most soils, but prefers heavier, moist soils. They do best in light shade, similar to their native woodland habitat. Plant galanthus bulbs ‘in the green’ (just after flowering, with leaves intact), as dry bulbs often take a season to settle down.
One advantage to this chilly February is the colder and gloomier it is, the longer the snowdrop blooms last. In a sunny warm winter they are comparatively fleeting, but always worth adding to a garden.
