CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS

The house at Anglesey Abbey was originally built in 1600 on the ruins of a priory dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536.  Photo David Boughey

To access our current snowdrop catalogue, click here.  There are still a lot of great snowdrops left.

In February of 2023, Michael and I visited the magnificent winter gardens at Anglesey Abbey in Lode, England, about five miles outside of Cambridge.  We came at the invitation of the wonderful David Boughey, National Trust Service Assistant, who arranged a private tour of Anglesey’s snowdrop collection for us.  David is also a professional photographer and supplied many of the photographs for this post.  Thank you, David!

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Nursery News:  Carolyn’s Shade Gardens at Whitehall Farm is a retail nursery in Norristown, PA, U.S., zone 6b/7a. If you are interested in shopping here, send us an email with your full name, mailing address, and cell number to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com and indicate if you are interested in shopping at the nursery and/or snowdrops (mail order only). Current catalogues, hours/contact information , and directions are under Pages on the right sidebar. The only plants we ship are snowdrops to US customers. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.

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The Anglesey Abbey grounds include Lode Mill, a completely functional corn mill, originally purchased and restored by Lord Fairhaven in 1934 but probably in existence prior to 1086.  Photo David Boughey

Our tour was conducted by very knowledgeable Senior Gardener David Jordan, who guided us through the winter gardens and the Specialist Collection of Snowdrops.  Anglesey Abbey has over 500 varieties of snowdrops so it is a great place for galanthophiles.  But before I get to the snowdrops, I want to show you the stunning winter gardens.  The following photos were taken by David Boughey.

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Now for the snowdrops……

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Anglesey Abbey has had to limit access to the snowdrop collection after a series of snowdrop thefts so the Specialist Collection is only accessible with advance booking of a guided tour.  The tours take place in January and February and sell out quickly.  The 2025 tour schedule was not available at the time of this post, but click here to check for updates.

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We passed this sculptural birch grove on the way to the snowdrops.

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There were also many naturalized snowdrops in the woods and gardens outside the special collection.

The snowdrop collection featured so many amazing and notable cultivars that it would be impossible to do it justice—you just have to visit.  In the meantime, I will show nine snowdrops that were discovered and selected at Anglesey Abbey:

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‘Ailwyn’, a RHS Award of Garden Merit-winning snowdrop discovered by the famous Richard Nutt in 1994 and named for Lord Fairhaven, the owner of Anglesey Abbey who donated it to the National Trust in 1966.

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‘Anglesey Orange Tip’ was discovered at Anglesey Abbey by our guide Senior Gardener David Jordan.  Its buds are a lovely apricot color, which fades to a glow on the tips when the flowers open.

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‘Anglesey Orange Tip’ in bud at Colesbourne Park.

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‘Anglesey Abbey’, though variable, is, at its best, a pure white poculiform snowdrop with glossy green leaves found by famous horticulturist Graham Thomas in the abbey gardens.

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The beautiful double ‘Lady Fairhaven’ appeared at the abbey in 1998 and is considered very similar to ‘Ailwyn’.

‘Anglesey Candlelight’ was discovered by Senior Gardener David Jordan around 2014 and given its name due to the orange glow on the inner segments.

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‘Huttlestone’ was discovered in the abbey gardens in 1992 by Joe Sharman, the owner of Monksilver Nursery.  It is named for the first Lord Fairhaven.  Look at those leaves!

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‘Anglesey Cloudgazer’ was found in the abbey gardens by now retired Head Gardener Richard Todd and named by Michael and Ann Broadhurst at Rainbow Farm Snowdrops for a stargazing structure at the abbey designed by Todd.

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The beautiful and vigorous ‘Richard Ayres’ was found at Anglesey Abbey in 1987 by famous galanthophile Richard Nutt and named for a former Head Gardener.

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As recounted by then Head Gardener Richard Ayres, ‘Melanie Broughton’ was discovered at Anglesey Abbey during the 1998 Galanthus Gala and later named for Lord Fairhaven’s youngest daughter.  It is still available in our 2025 Snowdrop Catalogue.

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Carolyn

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