On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 05:56:31 -0000, "Trevor Appleton"
trevor@nospamweatherdot4dinternetdocodotuk wrote:

~Snowdrops out in a garden in Driffield, East Yorkshire yesterday. Large
~leaves 'elwisii' perhaps? I'm not a Galanthophile, though would like to be,
~but where on earth do you get the varietes?
~
~Trevor
~East Yorkshire

I noticed last night that one of my Elwesii flowers has dropped and
will no doubt be open today. They are always earlier than G. Nivalis,
but I didn't expect *this* early!

I lost a lot over the summer, it seems, as not all of my labelled
potsful of Galanthus have reappeared. And I did try and keep them damp
over the summer but they really don't like drying out. Still, I've a
fair number of S. Arnott, viridapicis and Woronowii up, as well as a
few Elwesii. and lots of Nivalis.

(I have a lot of terracotta pots with a gritty/humus rich compost, and
a thick layer of grit on the top with my special varieties in.)

You get them wherever you can. I got a lot of "S. Arnott" at Hodsock
Priory (www.snowdrops.co.uk) though as ever for varieties they're
expensive (£3 each). Other places I've got bookmarked as sources (but
haven't as yet used so I can't say yea or nay to their reliability)
are

http://rareplants.co.uk/galanthu/index.htm
http://www.broadleighbulbs.co.uk/
http://www.pottertons.co.uk/

Jacques Amand UK: 020 8420 7110 (fax 020 8954 6784). is also a
reasonable source - I got about 150 G. nivalis in the green for a
tenner last year! I'm having fun watching the clumps I planted appear
at the moment, though some were rather deeper than others and so far
haven't broken through! (I can recommend photographing the planting
locations so you know where they are the following spring!)

I bought another S Arnott while there, as it had a beautiful
Viridapicis in the same pot by accident :-)

They are in Stanmore - though their US concern has full mail order,
this one is staffed wonderfully by the disabled and is for callers
only. Luckily I'm only 15 mins away (when at work). Expect it to take
a while for the phone to get answered.

I'm going to the 18th February Snowdrop day at the RHS in London -
anyone else going?
http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhseventfinder...3.asp?ID=24291

jane the unashamed galanthophile :-)