It may be snowing but spring is on its way...
By: Christina Harrison - 14/01/2010
And the snowdrops are already fighting through.
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What a winter we’ve had so far. Kew has been looking utterly magical this past fortnight with all the snow that has fallen. I love heading out for a walk at lunchtimes, crunching through the untainted snow and perhaps taking a trip to the Davies Alpine House where beautiful gem-like alpines are putting on a show despite the weather. Their sheer resilience always cheers me up!
The snowdrops are always worth looking forward to on the Rock Garden as well, and should all start flowering soon. Despite this recent cold snap, studies at Kew on the flowering times of plants have shown that they are bursting bud earlier as the years pass. Some spring-flowering plants are around two weeks earlier than they were a couple of decades ago.
Snowdrops are those hardy harbingers of spring that are a delight to behold. I was amazed to hear just how many snowdrops are actually farmed and harvested in Europe for the horticultural trade – Georgia harvests 15 million bulbs of Galanthus woronowii every year. Richard Wilford, manager of the hardy collections at Kew (which includes the Rock Garden) recently travelled to Georgia to help with surveys of the populations of this species in the wild, and on farms, in order to help advise on the official trade of this beautiful, delicate-looking alpine. Richard recounts his travels in the winter issue of Kew magazine, which is on sale until 3 March.
You’ll be able to see Galanthus woronowii on the Rock Garden in several locations come February, as well as many other snowdrop species. At Kew's sister garden, Wakehurst, there is a beautiful mass planting of G.nivalis near the visitor centre that is definitely worth visiting. I’ve added a picture here of G. elwesii in the snow that I took on 13 January.
- You can read more about Galanthus elwesii on our Kew Today page by clicking here.
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About Christina
Christina accepts a Kew Publishing award at the Garden Media Guild awards in 2012.
Christina joined Kew in 1999 after finishing a BSc. degree in Plant Ecology and an Advanced National Certificate in Horticulture. After initially working as a horticulturist in Kew’s Arboretum and the Hardy Display section (on the Grass Garden) she went on to become Festivals Interpretation Officer between 2002-2008, helping Kew’s onsite visitors understand what makes Kew tick. In the meantime she completed an MA in Garden History, a subject that continues to be one of her passions.
Christina was short-listed for a Garden Writers Guild award in 2007 for one of her articles in Kew magazine, and is the author of Kew’s Big Trees, published in 2008. She became editor of Kew magazine in September 2008. “I see Kew magazine as a window on the world of Kew,” she says. “I hope between its pages the many facets of Kew’s work and the people who make it happen are revealed for all to see and encourage readers to continue to support Kew.”
- If you would like to publish material from this blog in a separate publication, please get in touch with Kew’s Press Office at pr@kew.org. See our full Terms & Conditions here.
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