Each year I have a little jitter about whether our daughter’s snowdrop will appear.
Bred by the late galanthophile Jim Leatherland of Hollowell, Northants, galanthus ikariae ‘Bonnie Scott’ was given to me just after our fourth child and first daughter was born in February 2008. Bless Jim, he’d put up with my terrible plant knowledge and been a real mentor when I started gardening in Northants more than 20 years ago.
Working at the daily Chronicle and Echo at the time, I had somehow become the gardening correspondent, mostly (much like my parenting column) detailing my relief at keeping things alive.
Snowdrops should spread relatively easily, with new tiny bulbs forming beneath the soil each season. They should be lifted and gently split and replanted ‘in the green’ (while the leaves are still there after flowering).
But not my bonny snowdrop. There never seems much spread, hardly any new bulblets. I’ve tried moving it, always terrified the label will disappear and I’ll accidentally dig it up without realising. Then in late January it will pop up again, just with two or three flowers, but there, nonetheless, now almost 14 years on.
Maybe it needs a specific feed? Advice from experts always welcome.
Fingers crossed for next year…
Hilary Scott Writes 