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The Garden House Snowdrop Festival coming to Devon in February

9th December 2020

Categories: Visitor News

The Garden House Snowdrop Festival Friday 15th January - Sunday 28th February 2021: Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11am – 3pm.

There’s a treat in store for snowdrop enthusiasts in 2021 at The Garden House’s world famous Snowdrop Festival which takes place in January and February.

The world renowned Matt Bishop Snowdrop Collection, one of the most diverse collections of named and naturalised snowdrops in the UK, has been joined by the Colin Mason Collection at The Garden House, one of the finest gardens in England.

The new collection was left as a very special legacy to the Garden House and it’s expert gardening team very carefully transplanted the collection to the plantsman's paradise.

Now, together with the original Matt Bishop collection, there are nearly 350 named cultivars and species of snowdrop – some rarely seen in open gardens.

Colin Mason was the owner of “Fieldgate Snowdrops” from which he made successful hybrids which proved to be successful and attractive – he bulked these up by “twin scaling”. Much sought after examples include Fieldgate Tiffany, Fieldgate Sophie and Fieldgate Superb – we have examples of these in our named collection.

The Snowdrop Festival, which has become an annual highlight for UK garden lovers, takes place in an exquisite corner of Devon, where one of the best collections of snowdrops in the world bursts into fragrance and colour.

The snowdrops are planted in huge swathes across the garden’s stunning ten acres. The snowdrops bloom from September through to March, peaking in January and February, and are carefully labelled, tucked into herbaceous borders and naturalised with early flowering bulbs. Snowdrops are scattered across banks and in borders, in plain sight but also tucked away in secret corners.

This year Snowdrop Festival visitors can also enjoy:

Guided snowdrop tours by our resident snowdrop advisor are available at £20 [Minimum 5 people and must be pre booked]
Friends of the Garden House will have a free Guided Snowdrop Walk – date TBC
Winter plants for sale as well as snowdrops and early flowering bulbs
Cafe offering a winter warmer menu
There will be a snowdrop photography exhibition in the cafe, by Di Field
Special snowdrop gifts and cards available at the gate and within the cafe
Opening of the new “Frame the View” trail
A covid-safe environment, with strict covid related risk assessments and “Good to Go” quality standard by Visit England

The vast snowdrop collection was established by Galanthus (snowdrop) expert Matt Bishop, former head gardener at The Garden House, to include many extremely rare and unusual varieties. Matt is the principal author of the galanthophile bible, Snowdrops: a Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus (Griffin Press, 2002) and now has his own worldwide snowdrop business.

The stunning Garden House display has become a must-see on the Galanthophiles (snowdrop lover) calendar. Typically Galanthophiles will travel long distances to see very rare blooms, with some paying thousands of pounds to buy the rarest varieties.

The Garden House team now hope the snowdrop collection will become a nationally recognised collection, though many varieties remain yet to be formally unidentified.

“The snowdrop collection is not only extraordinarily pretty,” said The Garden House Visitor Services Manager, Karen Willcocks. “It’s a unique chance to see some of the rarest varieties of snowdrop in an exceptionally beautiful setting. It’s loved by experts and garden lovers alike and, along with our amazing bulb sale, is a not to be missed moment in the Garden House calendar.”

The Garden House’s hotly anticipated snowdrop bulb sale by Chelsea Flower Show Gold medallists, Avon Bulbs takes place on Feb 6th, 11-3pm, normal garden admission applies. One of only a handful of sales by Avon Bulbs, The Garden House bulb sale will be their furthest West this year. On Saturday 20th February The Garden House will also host a sale of snowdrops and bulbs by Elworthy Cottage Nursery – garden admission will apply

“We’re expecting lots of interest,” says Karen. “Last year we opened to queues of people who wanted to be first through the door. Arrive early to get the best bulbs.”