Garden Bloggers' Blooms Day: Experimental and Guerrilla Snowdrops

Original guerrilla gardened Snowdrops

The snowdrops are finally coming to the fore this week, does anyone else think they're later this year? Of course I could be comparing them to years when they've been early 😉 Early, late or on time, they're still most welcome. The photo above shows some of the snowdrops I planted over twenty years ago - the first time I'd tried my hand at guerrilla gardening. They form a welcome to the shared space on our part of the estate and it gives me a warm feeling when I hear local walkers saying how pretty they are.

Snowdrops planted in gravel

Last year I was gifted two huge carrier bags full of snowdrops in the green, so I've taken the opportunity for some experimental planting in gravel having seen some of mine have self seeded themselves there elsewhere in the garden. We have two narrow strips of gravel which border our front drive and the path which leads through to the back. I planted lots of small clumps there and I'm thrilled they've come back this year to welcome us home.

Streamside snowdrops

The rest I added to the guerrilla planting on our public land to help fulfill my vision of a wooded streamside full of snowdrops and hellebores. Those plantings and the gravel experiments are running a bit later and are relatively small clumps compared to my original plantings two decades ago, but it's exciting to see which clumps are pushing their noses through the soil. Numbers are changing from day to day 😍

Seeing I have some self-sown snowdrops in the garden as well as the usual ones that have bulked up, I'm pondering trying to save some seed to scatter latter streamside. I know it'll take some time to see the results of this particular experiment - at least three years - but I reckon it'll be fun to try. What do you think?

Garden Bloggers' Blooms Day is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. It's lovely to take part again Carol!

Comments

  1. Beth at PlantPostings16 February 2023 at 01:43

    Snowdrops...yay! Happy almost spring!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous16 February 2023 at 12:43

    Go for it. We gardeners are patient.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lisa Wagner16 February 2023 at 13:59

    Lovely to see these, while surrounded by snow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP16 February 2023 at 14:02

      Oh yes, that would be most special Lisa. Sadly becoming a rarer occurrence here in the UK :(

      Delete
  4. Lynn16 February 2023 at 16:03

    I love your snowdrops along the drive and the path - I've planted some along my path to the birdbaths where I walk every day to refill them. Here in the US (Pennsylvania) we are having a very mild winter and my snowdrops began blooming in January, a record for me - they usually come out in mid-February. The ones that have been in the ground longest seem to bloom first, the ones that I spread around while still green last spring and the year before are just starting to bloom now. Sun or shade doesn't seem to make a difference.

    ReplyDelete
  5. RobinL5 March 2023 at 00:35

    I must be the only gardener without snowdrops! Will crocus and daffodils do?

    ReplyDelete
  6. RobinL3 April 2023 at 02:27

    I really should as snowdrops to my garden. After all, who ever heard of a gardener who doesn’t grow snowdrops?

    ReplyDelete

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