"Be it ever so 'umble" - the noble snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis

 A bit of etymology: "Galanthus" means with milk-white flowers, the common snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, means snowy. The flowers have narrow glaucous leaves, from the Latin "glaucus" meaning bluish green or grey.  And a "bulb" is a rounded underground storage organ. The romance of the snowdrop.

And here is my first clump, in a warm patch, protected by trees and beech hedge. They are the same snowdrops as all the other clumps save that their less advanced fellows are more exposed, less sheltered, and only now beginning to show white at the tips. Here the white flowers stand out from the chestnut brown of the beech leaves. I paid pennies for ten dried bulbs many years ago. They cover the garden now. The common snowdrop: and as welcome as any of my highly priced, albeit highly prized, aristocrats.

Bretton Hall Campus, Yorkshire Sculpture Park

The post-war years saw a baby boom in the United Kingdom and with it a need to rapidly expand the number of teachers. Bretton Hall became a Teachers' Training College in 1949. After a merger with Leeds University it was finally closed in 2007. Since then it has gone into steady decline, abandoned, as interesting an exhibit as anything on display at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. We toured the campus.yesterday.

The pool by the gymnasium still has a pump working; moorhens and coots inhabit the environs.

This was the "state of the art" theatre and studio. Never used.

There are lights on in the library on the right, some form of educational library still, I understand, but activity there is desultory at best from what I can make out.   

A further view of the gymnasium. This is an iconic sixties building (ish). Abandoned to its fate. I think it a wonderful building. English Heritage has supported far less worthy structures.

This was, from memory, the students union building, now an excellent café for the Sculpture Park.

Lush grass, all the trappings of a student campus. No students.

One of the residential halls of residence. By the look of the plaque it was known as Grasshoppers I should imagine.

And here is Bretton Hall itself. A grand building. Not in use, though Wakefield Council workmen were repairing the roof when we visited. One of my favourite comedies of all time, "League of Gentlemen", was conceived in this very building. There are long-standing plans to transform the Hall into a hotel though I'll believe it when I've stayed there.

Another view of the theatre that is presenting its own performance of "Waiting For Going".

Leaves, ivy, rust and locked doors.

This was a bright interior section once.

Looking upwards towards the completely neglected halls of residence awaiting the demolition men.

There's the lights on in the library but I could see no-one working there. An odd place to work, 

And a final look through the trees. Sad indeed to think no-one actually lives there.

As we left we could see the men dismantling one of the huge Ursula von Rydingsvard sculptures that have graced the park over the past months. Would that similar expenditure were bestowed on the buildings above. Or below to be geographically accurate.

Our Front Garden 6th July 2003

Looking back at our front garden from twelve years ago I am struck by how much under control the front "rockery" is, although at the time I lamented the passing of my original alpines, replaced due to my busy work schedule at the time. Many of the plants are still there but much changed.

I had forgotten about the the lilies. Whatever became of them?

 Juniperus scopulorum 'Skyrocket' can just be seen at the rear of the "rockery". It is much bigger now. Too big perhaps. Decisions will be made over its future shortly.

Winter is a time for planning and I have decided that some judicious pruning and cutting is required. The hebe at the front of the central bed is long gone, replaced by roses that give good colour but fight back. Trees have replaced the shrubs in places. The beech hedge is totally unchanged. 35 years of regular cutting has kept it in check. My brother-in-law would like to use the plants as bonsai, the trunks being so thick.

Galanthus elwesii 'Mrs McNamara'

I shall attempt to keep myself and anyone else informed about the progress of the various snowdrops I have planted recently. First up is Galanthus elwesii 'Mrs McNamara' photographed on 2nd January 2014.

There is a narrow inverted "v" shaped green mark on the inner petals although this clearly is not the main charm of the variety. The attraction is its height and earliness of bloom, it having been in flower for two weeks now. It should make an even more prominent clump next year.  



The bulb was purchased from the snowdrop expert at Easton Walled Garden last February and I paid more than could I buy it for today by mail order. That said, there were no postal charges and as it was pot grown it seemed a healthy specimen, at the time having only one spent flower but with the potential for a couple of shoots.

By way of contrast, here is a close-up of Galanthus plicatus 'Colossus', much the same size though the clump is not yet fully developed. Indeed, Colossus is if anything a little smaller. In the world of Galanthus, the name is ultra important and "Colossus" has a distinctive edge don't you think. Still, back to the name of today's plant.....

Plants are normally named as a token of affection. This stately plant was named after Dylan Thomas' mother-in-law, Yvonne Macnamara. Thomas did not have the best of relationships with the lady. In his recently discovered notebook he complained about the Hampshire weather and landscape: "I sit and hate my mother-in-law, glowering at her from corners and grumbling about her in the sad, sticky, quiet of the lavatory …” I'm sure Yvonne thought just as highly of him. She had high hopes for her daughter and a hard drinking poet was not her idea of a good match. Nice snowdrop though.

Athelhampton House, Dorset - 21st July 2014

Athelhampton House is everything one might wish for in an English manor house but its 20 acre gardens are Italian in style. It also has some fairly recent "secret gardens".

The house is now in superb condition but needed to be extensively restored in the late 19th Century.

The twelve pyramid shaped yew trees are an oft referred to feature of the Grade 1 listed gardens.

Another pyramid shaped feature of the gardens.

Entrance to one of the garden "rooms" that grace the property.

And inside is this most distinctive garden with imaginative walls and tilting urn fountain.

The River Piddle borders the house and, when not too soggy with rain, provides a tranquil walk in an area left with many natural features. It ends by the 16th century circular dovecote. Wildlife abounds.

The colour combination of foliage and flower, all in immaculate condition.

40,000 visitors each year! We arrived very late in the day and it was quiet. The gardens, I am reliably informed, are stunning in Spring. It's in the new 2015 calendar.

Snowdrop Week at Easton Walled Gardens, Lincolnshire - 20th February 2014

Abandoned in 1951, when Easton Hall was demolished, the overgrown gardens have been lovingly restored under the leadership of Lady Ursula Cholmeley, a member of a family that has lived in the house since 1592. A  decision to commence work on the 12 acre gardens was only taken in 1999. It has been a labour of love.

The river walk is particularly fine in snowdrop season. Hard to believe the garden was described as impenetrable as recently as 2001 when the earth moving plant first moved in.

The River Witham flows through the garden, the source being spring fed just a few miles away. Extensive work has taken place to unclog the river. Kingfishers fly over its pure water.

Snowdrop Week is 14th-22nd February. Galanthophile, Jackie Murray, gives free talks and I believe has many snowdrop varieties available for sale.

The bulbs have dramatically thickened out in recent times.

The busy A1 passes by the garden boundary. Drivers and passengers are oblivious of the beauty. 

Happy New Year, August 1974

I've gone right back to our honeymoon for this one. Have a great New Year.

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, 22 July 2014

Happy New Year!

Spring Blossom at Thoresby Hall, April 19th 2011

The last day of 2014. Despite a temptation to choose the best of a great year, here is a pick-me-up for those suffering from cold or flu. The year 2011. It is the middle of April in Thorsby Park, Nottinghamshire. Well and truly Spring.

The miraculous white blossom trees leading to Thoresby Hall.

Perhaps the oldest oak tree on the estate. There is still a stirring of green on the old man.

White lamb for a perfect Spring day.

Sheep by the River Meden.

Spring is in the air. Have a great New Year's Eve   ... and beyond.

Winter Aconites and Witch Hazel at Nostell Priory, December 29th 2014

 Last year we noticed that, following work on constructing a children's play area in the woodland at Nostell Priory, winter aconites  (Eranthis) had seeded in the churned up soil and made a welcome splash of colour. Well they are back in some abundance, thriving in the very moist soil.

It may still be 2014 but the first flowers of spring are upon us.

The Obelisk Lodge is at the far end of the meadow that will look so lush with wild flowers in high summer. Today it looked for all the world like the arctic tundra. The lodge was still inhabited until the late 1950s. Astonishing because the living accommodation is tiny.

Nostell Priory itself.

Hamamelis were planted a year or so back in the estate. (Somewhere I have photographs of them...) One has burst into flower before even the old leaves have been discarded.

Ducks on the iced lower lake.