When little else is growing in the British countryside, snowdrops can brighten the otherwise barren landscape \u2013 and finding a clutch of little white blooms elevates any weekend walk. To help you plot a route that includes them, we\u2019ve put together an expert guide on where to see snowdrops in the UK, when to plant snowdrops and how to grow your own.
When do snowdrops bloom?<\/h3>\n
Snowdrops flower between January and March, often appearing en masse and creating a characteristic \u2018white blanket\u2019 coverage. They thrive in lightly shaded woodland areas and can be found all around the UK.<\/p>\n
In the 1950s, snowdrops would not typically flower until late February, but during the past few decades the teardrops of white have appeared ever earlier, and in particularly mild winters, snowdrops may not even wait for a New Year to begin.<\/p>\n
![\""Snowdrop"\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/01\/Snowdrop-close-up-921a4d1.jpg?quality=90&resize=584%2C413"\" "\\"\"Snowdrop-close-up\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Where are snowdrops found?<\/h3>\n
The snowdrop is native across Central and Southern Europe, and became naturalised within our native flora. In his book\u00a0Types of Floral Mechanism\u00a0<\/i>(1908), Arthur Church suggests the snowdrop may have been brought to our shores by the Romans, but notes that the first-known cultivation of the plant was made by John Gerard in 1597.<\/p>\nWhere can I see snowdrops in the UK?<\/h3>\n
Snowdrops can be found in woodlands, parks and gardens. Keep an eye out during a local walk this January and you may spot a clump or two.<\/p>\n More related content:<\/p>\n Credit: Clive Nichols\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> There are more than 2,500 varieties and, although not a native species, they are now well established in the wild in the UK.<\/p>\n One of the most widely grown snowdrops, this variety forms large clumps with stems up to 15cm\/6in tall. The dainty double flowers bloom in February and early March and are faintly edged with green.<\/p>\n Single flowers bob and weave in the wind on stems which can grow up to 25cm\/10in tall. It is a later flowering variety, blooming in late February and March and produces good-sized, neat flowers.<\/p>\n This variety produces large double flowers with layers of petals like a ballerina\u2019s tutu. It has a honeyed scent and flowers in January and February.<\/p>\n The white flowers hang from a single stem with three inner petals (called tepals) curved into a tight pointed oval and three external petals loosely opening outwards. These flower heads can be \u2018single\u2019 \u2013 one layer of petals \u2013 or \u2018double\u2019 \u2013 multiple layers of petals \u2013 headed. The grassy foliage is a vibrant light green.<\/p>\n When formed, the flower hangs from the stem like a lantern on a ship\u2019s bow, with the three outer tepals curved into a tight pointed oval that may appear solid. However, there is plenty of room for an insect to squeeze its way in and find pollen at a time when other food is scarce. The bracts later open, releasing the flower to droop downwards, with three outer tepals opening outwards and three inner tepals (white and light-green at the tip) remaining close together.<\/p>\n More related content:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> Snowdrop bulbs themselves are poisonous, a fact which perhaps lead to the superstition that a single snowdrop bloom in a house represents death.\u00a0Due to the bulb\u2019s likeness to its relative, the onion, it has often been mistakenly eaten, poisoning the unfortunate nibbler. It\u2019s a good defence against hungry deer grazing on the flowers or squirrels digging up the bulbs, but a nasty surprise for anyone confusing them for shallots.<\/p>\n Snowdrops and other plants from the Amaryllidaceae family have a naturally occurring substance in them called galantamine. This is sold as a medication to help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer\u2019s disease under the name of Reminyl.<\/p>\n Galantamine was first used, in eastern Europe in the 1950s to treat memory problems but it wasn\u2019t until 2010 that it became widely used in the UK when the\u00a0National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) authorised its use.<\/p>\n In British folklore; snowdrops have come to symbolise hope and purity. The flower, perhaps unsurprisingly given its status as one of the first signs of new spring life, has come to symbolise hope and consolation as well as purity. White is classically a colour associated with these traits. However\u2026 a superstition has developed around snowdrops. Although very pretty, a single flower indicates impending death and it should never be brought into the house. This is possibly as a result of the poisonous qualities it possesses.<\/p>\n Snowdrops, like many plant and animal species, are under threat in certain areas. They are protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) rulings, aka the Washington Convention, and the trading of Snowdrop bulbs is tightly regulated. In most countries it is illegal to collect bulbs from the wild, the exceptions being Turkey and Georgia.<\/p>\n Part of the reason bulbs are so valuable is that once you have one, it can and will multiply. As the flowers tend to grow at a time of year when there are few pollinating insects around, the plant has had to develop a different approach to furthering its species. Bulbs will split when dormant and begin to sprout new flowers.<\/p>\n Since the 1950s Kew Gardens have been monitoring the growth of snowdrops. In the mid-part of the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0century they would generally appear in February, since the 1990\u2019s they have been arriving increasingly quickly. These days they are sometimes found as early in the year as January, an indication of the UK\u2019s changing climate.<\/p>\n The UK is currently in national lockdown with strict Government restrictions around COVID-19<\/a> . These locations are suggested places to visit to see snowdrops when we aren\u2019t living under restrictions and it is safe to do so.<\/p>\n Take a stroll in this picture-perfect valley carpeted in snowdrops. No cars allowed \u2013 you need to get a bus from the pub car park. visit-exmoor.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n A fascinating new garden among the bones of an old garden whose house was demolished in the 1950s.\u00a0 visiteaston.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n A long walk studded with stems of every colour, gloriously barked trees and, of course, lots of snowdrops. Gardens and abbey open daily. nationaltrust.org.uk\/anglesey-abbey-gardens-and-lode-mill\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n![\""Crocus\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-523601248-f2262a4.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"Crocus\\"\/")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Varieties of snowdrops found in the UK<\/h3>\n
\u2018Lady Beatrix Stanley\u2019<\/h3>\n
![\""Single\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/01\/Snowdrop-Lady-Beatrix-ed829d8.jpg?quality=90&resize=278%2C413"\" "\\"\"Snowdrop-Lady-Beatrix\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\u2018Magnet\u2019<\/h3>\n
![\""Snowdrop"\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/01\/Magnet-snowdrop-f41eb7b.jpg?quality=90&resize=275%2C413"\" "\\"\"Magnet-snowdrop\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\u2018Flore Pleno\u2019<\/h3>\n
![\""Clump\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/01\/Flore-pleno-snowdrop-14af112.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C405"\" "\\"\"Flore-pleno-snowdrop\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>How to identify snowdrops<\/h3>\n
![\""Bluebell\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/bluebell_walk_thumbnail_body_image_v2-249579c.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"Bluebell\"\\"\/")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Are snowdrops poisonous?<\/h3>\n
![\""Snowdrops\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/GettyImages-858537396-e5ee0a3.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C406"\" "\\"\"Snowdrops\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Snowdrops as medicine<\/h3>\n
Snowdrops as a symbol of hope \u2013 and death<\/h3>\n
![\""Head\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/01\/Clup-of-snowdrops-9052c0f.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C412"\" "\\"\"Clup-of-snowdrops\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Endangered and protected<\/h3>\n
Not great pollinators<\/h3>\n
![\""Clump\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/01\/Clump-of-snowdrops-d61d400.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C412"\" "\\"\"Clump-of-snowdrops\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Snowdrops are a natural thermometer<\/h3>\n
Best snowdrop walks and gardens to visit in the UK<\/h2>\n
Snowdrop Valley, Exmoor, Somerset<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\""Snowdrops\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/01\/Snowdrops-Valley-Exmoor-621627a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Snowdrops-Valley-Exmoor\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Easton Walled Gardens, Lincolnshire<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\""Garden\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/01\/Easton-Gardens-f5efdf1.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C402"\" "\\"\"Easton-Gardens\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Anglesey Abbey Gardens, Cambridgeshire<\/span><\/h3>\n