snowdrops and aconites in front of Welford Park house
I read about Welford in the RHS journal. It's known for it's carpet of over 10 million snowdrops, the common Galanthus nivalis. The idea of a carpet of snowdrops intrigued me, so we made it our snowdrop destination for 2011.
a carpet of snowdrops
And what a carpet! I've never seen so many snowdrops in one place before. It was impressive. However, also a little disappointing. They have a fence around the main snowdrop garden, which means you cannot walk through the snowdrop carpet. I found this really disappointing. I yearned to stroll through the snowdrops and it felt like a 'keep of the grass' sign. It really wouldn't be difficult to have a few paths go through the snowdrops and would make such a difference to the experience.
the shadow to the bottom left is the fence that prevents you from tip-toeing through the snowdrops
So although it was an impressive sight, the snowdrops at Kingston Bagpuize remains my favourite snowdrop haunt. Kingston Bagpuize has no fences, has a large variety of snowdrops including their own Galanthus Bagpuize Virginia, and you can get up close and personal with them.