2012 SNOWDROP CATALOGUE
Snowdrop sales are over for 2012; the catalogue remains for informational purposes only.
2012 Snowdrop Catalogue: Calling all Galanthophiles
(That’s a British word for gardeners obsessed with snowdrops/Galanthus)
Snowdrops at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens
I am thrilled that you like snowdrops as much as I do. I sell my snowdrops in the spring as growing plants, rather than as bulbs in the fall, because that is the best way to insure vigorous healthy plants (snowdrop bulbs do not like to be dried). You will also be able to enjoy the blooms immediately as most plants will be flowering when you receive them. Your response to last year’s offerings, including my new mail order “division”, has inspired me to continue building my snowdrop business.
I continue to increase my own stock as well as offer snowdrops from other galanthophiles. This year, longtime Hardy Plant Society members, Queenie Northrup and Marcia Spoor, are making available some of their rare snowdrops. And I have again teamed up with snowdrop collector Charles Cresson to offer more of his exceptional heirloom varieties. Charles teaches the bulbs course at Longwood Gardens and has traded with numerous garden friends and snowdrop enthusiasts to amass an amazing collection of snowdrops, some of uniquely local origin. Charles will again be offering a “Snowdrops and Other Winter Interest Plants Seminar” to my customers, email to follow.
I am also including eight additional winter interest plants: an extraordinary double Christmas rose hellebore, a rare Christmas rose/hybrid hellebore cross, a miniature arum, a special crocus, rarely available winter aconite plants, two spectacular hardy cyclamens, and very early-blooming Tubergen squill.
To Order: If you would like to order, please send me an email at carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net with the plant name, quantity, your name, and telephone number. Supplies are limited so order early. You will receive an email confirming your order, amount owed, and outlining pick up procedures for the beginning of March. Any snowdrops purchased can be planted in your garden immediately or enjoyed in the pot until the weather warms in the spring. We offer no guarantee other than that each plant is true to name and healthy when it leaves here.
Mail Order (U.S. only): My venture into mail order went well last year with very positive feedback. I will mail snowdrops only, to customers too far away to pick up. I ask that customers who normally shop at my nursery not opt for mail order because I won’t be able to keep on top of the demand. There is a $30 minimum for mail order and a $15 charge will be added for shipping and my time in packing your bulbs. Please clearly specify mail order in your email and include your mailing address. See guarantee above. Snowdrops will be shipped with all soil removed and must be potted or planted immediately upon receipt.
Thanks, Carolyn
General Information: Common snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis, are naturalized throughout my garden, and I still can’t have enough. The wonderfully honey-scented, white flowers appear by the thousands from February through March and are my personal signal that winter is ending. By adding unusual varieties, I have extended my snowdrop bloom season from early fall through winter into spring. For example, G. reginae-olgae and ‘Potter’s Prelude’ bloom from October to January, while ‘Magnet’, G. elwesii, ‘S. Arnott’, and ‘Atkinsii’ bloom in January and February before the common snowdrop, G. nivalis, and G. woronowii take over. Snowdrops are the best plants for consistent winter interest in the garden. A great companion plant for hellebores, snowdrops grow in part shade to full deciduous shade and are usually not picky about soil. They are deer resistant and summer dormant. All varieties offered do well in the Delaware Valley; gardeners outside that area should do their own research into hardiness.
Snowdrops are the only plants I know of whose individual histories are as interesting as their ornamental characteristics. For more on this, read my article “Snowdrops: Further Confessions of a Galanthophile” by clicking here. You might also enjoy “Snowdrops or the Confessions of a Galanthophile“, click here, and “Are Snowdrops Thermogenic?”, click here. I highly recommend Snowdrops: A Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus by Matt Bishop, Aaron Davis, and John Grimshaw (Griffin Press 2006).
Profiles of the five new snowdrops added to the catalogue in 2012 can be found here. Profiles of most of the remaining 13 varieties can be found here.
RHS AGM signifies a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit for plants “of outstanding excellence for ordinary garden decoration or use.” Very few of the over 500 snowdrop cultivars described in Snowdrops have received this honor, but those that have are well-represented in this catalogue because they are the cream of the crop.
Photos appear above the descriptions.
G. elwesii (Giant Snowdrop), early-blooming, beautifully scented, large white flowers with the inner segments (petals) boldly marked with green at both the top and bottom (or merged into a single large green mark) and broad, blue-gray leaves; multiplies quickly, tolerates hotter and drier locations; naturalized throughout Winterthur; named for Victorian plant collector Henry John Elwes (1846-1922). RHS AGM
$15 (3 plants per pot) SOLD OUT
New G. ‘Hippolyta’ (Greatorex Double Snowdrop): Prior to his death in 1954, English plantsman Heyrick Greatorex originated a famous series of large and vigorous double snowdrops named after characters in Shakespeare’s plays. ‘Hippolyta’ is the easiest to identify in this series with very neat rounded flowers. The cupped outer segments flare away from the tightly compact inner rosette, a charming combination. Photo by and used with permission from Paddy Tobin. RHS AGM
$20 (1 plant per pot)
G. nivalis (Common Snowdrop), white flowers with green-tipped inner segments and narrow leaves with a glaucous center stripe; easiest to grow, it multiplies rapidly and produces the most flowers, naturalized through out Carolyn’s Shade Gardens; cultivated as an ornamental plant since the 16th century. RHS AGM
$12 (5 plants per pot) SOLD OUT
G. nivalis ‘Blewbury Tart’ (Double Snowdrop), outstanding and distinctive outward-facing double snowdrop with three narrow outer segments clasping the inner dark green tart-like rosette; discovered by well known British horticulturalist Alan Street in Blewbury, Oxfordshire, England. I exhausted my supply of this extraordinary snowdrop last year, but Queenie Northrup has volunteered to sell some of her plants.
$50 (1 plant per pot, 10 available) SOLD OUT
G. nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’ (Double Snowdrop), lovely double white flowers with green ruffled centers; very vigorous snowdrop tolerant of many different growing conditions; probably the oldest snowdrop cultivar in existence with records as early as 1703. RHS AGM
$12 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
New G. nivalis ‘Tiny’ (syn. ‘Tiny Tim’), Marcia Spoor has agreed to sell a very limited number of this rare diminutive form of G. nivalis treasured by U.K. galanthophiles. The narrow leaves and elfin stature are quite charming in a clump, which builds up quickly with this vigorous cultivar. ‘Tiny’ flowers later than most snowdrops further extending the spring snowdrop season.
$25 (1 plant per pot, 6 available) SOLD OUT
G. nivalis ‘Viridapice’ (Green-tipped Snowdrop), white flowers easily distinguished by the strikingly prominent green tips on the outer segments as well as the inner ones, bold and vigorous; my stock was acquired from the old Heronswood Nursery in Kingston, WA; originally discovered near a farmhouse in northern Holland prior to 1922.
$12 (1 plant per pot)
G. ‘Ophelia’ (Greatorex Double Snowdrop): ‘Ophelia’ is the best known and earliest flowering snowdrop in the series of double snowdrops created by Heyrick Greatorex. This vigorous snowdrop has rounded, tightly double flowers with a very prominent, broad, dark green u-shaped marking extending towards the base of the inner segments. Unlike most snowdrops, which produce one flower stem per plant, it has the advantage of producing a second stem, but the flowers on the second scape often need help to open. Plants come from the garden of Marcia Spoor.
$30 (1 plant per pot, 8 available)
G. ‘S. Arnott’, large rounded flowers with a heart-shaped green marking on the tip of the inner segment; the authors of Snowdrops describe ‘S. Arnott’ as the “classic snowdrop…a first-class garden plant with an unquestionable constitution, admired by everyone,” a must have for snowdrop collections; I have also seen it praised as the “desert island snowdrop”—the snowdrop that collectors would choose if they were limited to one; named for an early galanthophile, Samuel Arnott (1852-1930). RHS AGM
$12 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
G. ‘White Dream’, beautiful white flowers complimented by a pronounced white stripe on the leaves; similar to G. nivalis with more prominent flowers and more striking leaves; vigorous, multiplies rapidly.
$12 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
G. woronowii, late-flowering white blooms with green markings on the inner segments; much prized in the UK for its glossy green leaves that sparkle in the garden; native to Georgia, Russia, and Turkey and cultivated for more than 130 years; named for Russian botanist Georg Jurii Woronow (1874-1931). RHS AGM
$12 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
Charles Cresson’s Heirloom Snowdrop Collection
G. ‘Atkinsii’: Snowdrops describes ‘Atkinsii’ as having “elegant elongated flowers that suggest the drop-pearl earrings of Elizabeth I”—a true English classic. Selected in the 1860s by James Atkins of Gloucestershire, it is a large-flowered cultivar (the largest I am offering) valued for its early bloom and particularly sweet fragrance. Charles got his bulbs from the well known bulb authority Gertrude Wister who bought her bulbs in the 1960s from the Dutch bulb nursery, Van Tubergen established 1868, renowned for their well documented bulb collections. Michael Hoog, the grandson of Van Tubergen’s founder, verified Charles’s plants as the true ‘Atkinsii’, a snowdrop almost impossible to obtain today outside of England. RHS AGM
$25 (2 plants per pot) SOLD OUT
New G. ‘Brenda Troyle’: When Charles gave his snowdrop seminars in his garden last March, ‘Brenda Troyle’ was the most complimented snowdrop. Attendees couldn’t help admiring the well-proportioned, rounded flowers with very large, flared and cupped outer segments. ‘Brenda Troyle’ is also renowned for its strong fragrance of honey and its garden vigor. Charles got his bulbs from a bulb company started by the Hoog family after Van Tubergen went out of business. RHS AGM
$25 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
New G. ‘Dionysus’ (Greatorex Double Snowdrop): ‘Dionysus’ is a member of the acclaimed series of double snowdrops developed by Heyrick Greatorex when he crossed the common double snowdrop with the species G. plicatus to produce tall, robust, and early flowering doubles. The doubled inner segments have heart-shaped markings and form a tightly packed dark green rosette with white edging. Charles’s stock came from the well known Oregon bulb authority Jane McGary.
$30 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
G. elwesii var. monostictus ‘Potter’s Prelude’: This is a free-flowering and vigorous snowdrop with wide recurving blue-green leaves and large flowers similar to the best of the species except that it blooms from November to January. It was selected in the 1960s by Jack Potter, former Curator of the Scott Arboretum. In 2004, Charles registered it with the KAVB (the international registration authority for bulb cultivars) in the Netherlands. Matt Bishop declared ‘Potter’s Prelude’ the best of its type and will include it in the revised edition of Snowdrops. I am honored to be the only commercial source for this cultivar.
$40 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
For more information on ‘Potter’s Prelude’, read my article on fall-blooming snowdrops by clicking here.
G. ‘Magnet’: This is my favorite classic snowdrop. The descriptions of this snowdrop are a joy to read, and I can see why after having it in my garden. The stems (or pedicels) of the large, sweetly scented flowers are long and thin causing them to sway in the slightest breeze and setting ‘Magnet’ apart from all other snowdrops (no magnifying glass needed). Selected in the 1880s, it may have been named ‘Magnet’ after the child’s fishing game with magnets and sticks. Snowdrops says it defines garden-worthiness and is a mainstay of snowdrop collections throughout the world. RHS AGM
$25 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
New G. plicatus subsp. byzantinus: The minute I saw this snowdrop’s beautiful wide pleated leaves and lovely plump flowers I knew I had to have it in my collection. Rarely available for sale even in the U.K., subsp. byzantinus occurs naturally in a very small part of northwestern Turkey. It is distinguished from the species by having two marks on its inner segments: a small U-shaped mark at the tip and a large mark at the base covering at least half the segment. But for me it is the combination of the prominently marked flowers with the unusual leaves—the beautiful habit of the plant—that is the biggest attraction. Charles got his stock from Winterthur when he worked there in the early 1990s. The original bulbs were purchased from Barr & Sons (1882-1956) in Covent Garden, London, by Henry Francis du Pont in the 1930s.
$50 (1 plant per pot, 10 available) SOLD OUT
G. reginae-olgae: A species snowdrop, which has no handy common name, this very rare snowdrop starts blooming in my garden in early to mid-October and continues for about four weeks. It looks very much like the common snowdrop, G. nivalis, with a single green spot on its inner segment. Its most significant identifying feature is its bloom time as it is the first species to flower in the garden. It was named in 1876 in honor of Queen Olga of Greece, the grandmother of Prince Philip, the current Duke of Edinburgh. It was originally collected in Greece and grows throughout the Balkans and Italy so it tolerates hotter and drier weather. It benefits from winter protection of its leaves with pine boughs. Charles got his stock from a local garden where it had flourished for many years unlike some other forms of this species. Photo Charles Cresson. RHS AGM
$40 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
For more information on G. reginae-olgae, read my article on fall-blooming snowdrops by clicking here.
Other Winter Interest Plants
Arum italicum ‘Tiny Tot’ (Italian Arum), 6”, a rare miniature Italian arum with very distinct and extensive silver markings covering the narrow, arrow-shaped bright green leaves from early fall through late spring–yes, it’s gorgeous all winter (top photo ‘Tiny Tot’ in October, bottom in February)! For more information, click here.
$15 (1 plant per pot) SOLD OUT
Crocus tommasinianus ‘Ruby Giant’ (Snow Crocus), late winter-blooming, striking deep violet-purple flowers with orange anthers; unusual, vigorous, and rodent resistant. Photo Charles Cresson.
$12 (10 plants per pot) SOLD OUT
Cyclamen coum (Winter-blooming Hardy Cyclamen), extremely hardy popular species producing bright pink cyclamen blooms in late winter, often flowering through the snow, requires a dry site with excellent drainage, thrives between tree roots.
$12 (3” pot) SOLD OUT
New Cyclamen hederifolium (Fall-blooming Hardy Cyclamen), much easier to grow than C. coum in any well-drained part to full shade location; pink cyclamen blooms appear in fall; I grow it equally for its gorgeous, groundcovering, silver veined foliage from September through June (see bottom photo above); for more information, click here.
$12 (3” pot) SOLD OUT
Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite), very early blooming member of the buttercup family whose bright yellow flowers light up the winter landscape, very cold tolerant and excellent companion for snowdrops, difficult to start from bulbs but easy from plants, after more than 10 years it is naturalizing throughout my woodland, rarely sold as a growing plant.
$15 (blooming clump in 4” pot) SOLD OUT
New Helleborus niger ‘Double Fantasy’ (Double Christmas Rose), this Christmas rose is so rare that I have only seen it once, but now, thanks to a tissue culture nursery in Japan, you can add this gorgeous, pure white, semi-double flower to your winter garden; the blooms on this outward-facing, profusely flowering cultivar are beautifully set off by the dark, bluish green leaves in late winter; 10 to 12” tall and wide, evergreen, deer resistant.
$20 (blooming size plants in 4” pots)
New H. x ‘Snow White’ (aka ‘Snow Bunting’), the Yokoyama nursery in Japan has achieved the first ever cross between Christmas rose and hybrid hellebores to produce this gorgeous early-blooming white hellebore with large, flat, outward-facing flowers; easy to grow like all the hybrids but easy to see the multitude of flowers too!
$20 (blooming plants in 6” pots)
New Scilla mischtschenkoana (Tubergen Squill), 6-8”, starry pale blue flowers with an elegant blue center stripe in late winter, beautifully backed by shiny bright green leaves; multiplies rapidly to form a large clump; great companion for hellebores.
$12 (5 plants per pot) SOLD OUT
