SNOWDROPS, usually one of the park’s annual joys at this time of year, were the main topic at the annual lecture for the Friends in Cannizaro House on 28 January.

Dr John Grimshaw, gardens manager at Colesbourne Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, gave the talk, accompanied as usual by illustrations. Colesbourne is known as one of the country’s finest snowdrop gardens, boasting some 250 rare and unusual types and he showed just how varied  these little flowers can be. The abundant Galanthus nivalis in Cannizaro at the rear of Beech Close is outclassed by many others with a huge range of patterns and sizes.

Under his guidance a restoration project has been under way since 2003 at Colesbourne, aiming to recapture the passion of the pioneering Victorian plantsman Henry Elwes who created the collection covering ten acres. A diverse garden of many other species is being created to complement the snowdrops.

Dr Grimshaw has co-authored a monograph on snowdrops and he is a particular expert on bulbs, ferns and Impatiens. He is also currently working on a major book on trees introduced during the past 35 years.

However his principal botanical interest is actually African plants and as well as being an honorary research associate at Kew Gardens, he is also an honorary elder of the Masai community of Lerang’wa in Tanzania.