Grand gathering of Galanthophiles
Spring 2007
GALANTHUS nivalis,
the commonest snowdrop, made its usual grand showing in Cannizaro Park this
winter behind Beech Close.
But how many of us knew much about the 249 other types of snowdrop before this
year’s lecture at Cannizaro House by Dr John Grimshaw, gardens manager at
Colesbourne Park, near Cheltenham?
We were introduced to the Armine from Greece, the
plicatus
Colossus from the Crimea, and the
woronowii from
the Caucasus among many others. We saw snowdrops with green stripes, snowdrops
with yellow markings, and snowdrops that cheat by switching from yellow to green
when transplanted. We heard about the Lord Lieutenant snowdrop with its military
bearing and about the
plicatus
Diggory of which a single bulb sold last year for £73.
We learned how to plant snowdrops to best effect - randomly, not in lines -
and how to mix them with aconites, cyclamens and crocuses. How they
needed lots of light and well drained soil and how they are mercifully safe from
squirrels since they contain a chemical used in the treatment of Alzheimers
Disease.
Dr Grimshaw has been working at Colesbourne since 2003 to recapture the passion
of pioneering Victorian plantsman Henry Elwes who created a collection now
covering ten acres. His talk was accompanied by illustrations revealing the
innermost workings of the snowdrop and after the talk he had specimens for sale
to his audience.
An expert too on bulbs, ferns and Impatiens, Dr Grimshaw is an honorary research associate at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. As well as snowdrops, he has a particular interest in African plants but he kept that for another day.