Sunday, 2 February 2014

A Gardener's Valentine's Day


Galanthus Nivalis - A heart-shaped mark
Photo courtesy of greenforks.com
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching! Are you tired of giving flowers and chocolates? Struggling to find an original gift? Here are a couple of plant ideas that I can guarantee are less fattening than chocolate.How about purchasing your loved one a selection of snowdrop cultivars? The green marks on the inside petals are heartshaped and as they bloom during February your thoughtful gift will be admired on Valentine’s Day year after year. Please note that this does not excuse you from never buying a Valentine’s gift again! Garden centres usually have a small selection of cultivars, although they will by now be selling out fast; for a larger selection you will need to use a snowdrop specialist. When we visited the RHS London Plant and Design Show last year at the Horticultural Halls we were stunned at the number of different snowdrop cultivars. Unfortunately, we were also stunned at the prices some of them commanded. I really wanted a Galanthus Nerissa, a very pretty double-flowered snowdrop, but I baulked at paying nearly £25 for one. Never mind, at least it gave me a better idea of the Dutch tulip bulb fever!

Galanthus Nerissa
Photo courtesy of macplants.co.uk
If your pockets are deep and really I mean potentially very, very deep, you can bid on ebay for the opportunity to name a new snowdrop cultivar. Bidding ends on February 13th at 8pm and if you ‘win’ you will receive a snowdrop cultivar with whatever name you have chosen. (Please remember that Jilly begins with a ‘J’ not a ‘G’!) The cultivar will then be available for sale so that you can annoy all your friends by insisting that they buy them. For further details, please see the website www.evolution-plants.com.
Finally, the Millenium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place has a selection of seeds waiting to be adopted. For £25 you can adopt a seed, receiving a nice certificate as well as newsletters during the year. Popular choices for Valentine’s Day include the slender stalked rose, Rosa Graciflora; love-in-a-mist Nigella Damascena or, my favourite love-in-a-puff, Cardiospermum halicacabum, with its extraordinary seeds with heart-shaped marks. For further details, please contact Jill Taylor at Kew Gardens on 0208 332 3248.

Alternatively, be dull and buy chocolates.

Cardiospermum Halicacabum seeds
Photo courtesy of flickrhivemind.net
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2 comments:

  1. Jilly14 February 2014 at 12:23

    The bidding has now ended for the Galanthus cultivar. There were 48 bids and the winning amount was £1602.00. I look forward to find out the winning name!

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  2. HGgardeningclub14 February 2014 at 12:53

    Following a question at one of the meetings, Galanthus Nerissa is not pinky purple as shown in the photograph! The photo is artfully lit, and the snowdrop is actually white with all green markings.

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