I just love snowdrops.  With their deceptively fragile beauty they are a sure sign that a new year of growth in our gardens is beginning.  Who can help but smile with pleasure when they begin to show their nodding heads of exquisite little white flowers, tinged with the freshest of green. The legend associated with these brave forerunners of spring tells us that after the expulsion from Eden a kindly angel took pity on Eve who was crying desperately in the now barren wilderness.  The angel blew on a snowflake turning it into a snowdrop and hope was born.
The bulbs can be planted in the autumn or if you really want to see just what type you are planting a better way is to wait until spring and choose hybrids ‘in the green’.  By doing this when the plants are in full leaf and you can really see what you are getting.  They prefer a fertile and moisture retentive soil that has been enriched with plenty of organic matter.  For a spectacular display plant in drifts under trees and shrubs.  In time divide large clumps while they are in flower, or just after.  Lift carefully and separate each bulb so that the leaves and roots are intact.  Replant straight away at the same depth.
I keep an eye on my neighbours’ gardens to see who has the best display of snowdrops and, of course, who had them in flower first.  Last year I underplanted the apple tree that I am growing in a pot and whilst not yet in flower there are plenty of green shoots showing.