Snowdrop ‘Lady Elphinstone’

Some plants are everywhere. Everyone knows what they are, and most people love them. But that doesn’t mean you should settle for the bog standard variety that everyone grows. Digging deeper into a genus reveals real gems: plants that truly stand out from the crowd. Every month, the Collector’s Item will bring you rare and unusual species and cultivars from the National Plant Collections. This series carries a health warning: the plants are so hot that you might find yourself collecting the whole bunch.

One plant in particular carries all the trappings of addiction. Some growers get so fixated upon collecting snowdrops that they become galanthophiles (which sounds like some terrible disease, but really means ’snowdrop lover’), and madly collect every specimen they can find. This month F&F readers are lucky enough to get a sneak peak into the marvellous snowdrop collection held by Lady Erskine at the Cambo Estate. You thought you knew snowdrops? Some of these specimens will blow your mind. You might have to crawl on your hands and knees across sodden grass to get close enough, but that’s part of the game.

‘Wendy’s Gold’

‘Armine’

‘Bloomer’

‘Elfin’

‘Grumpy’

‘Henry’s White’

‘Hill Poe’

‘John Gray’

‘Lyn’

Lady Erskine’s top tips for snowdrop success

1. Split clumps regularly to maximise their spread and to keep the bulbs healthy.
2. Grow snowdrops at the base of deciduous shrubs or trees to give the bulbs a summer drought without too deep a shade.
3. You must allow the leaves to die back naturally.

The Cambo Estate holds a National Plant Collection for snowdrops. You can visit the collection, which is spread across 70 acres of woodland near St Andrews. Click here to go to the Cambo Estate website.

All images supplied courtesy of the Cambo Estate. All rights reserved.