Only a couple of days to go before we welcome visitors to see our snowdrops as part of the NGS Snowdrop Festival. We are praying for some sunny days to make the snowdrops glisten and lift everyone's spirits. It has been so wet recently that we will not be able to use...

In those depressing grey days since Christmas it has lifted my spirits to walk round the garden and spot the emerging snowdrops. Several old friends have shown themselves already. Three Ships was flowering in early December and Mrs Macnamara was not far behind. To our...

November again! My least favourite month with absolutely nothing to recommend it. This year it has started off with nothing but grey skies but it is so mild that the garden is full of colour which is some compensation. Cyclamen hederifolium are looking wonderful and i...

Late July and the the continuous rain and cloud which has spoiled so many outdoor events has been wonderful for the garden. Everything has flourished in the warm damp atmosphere, which is quite unlike out usual arid conditions. The growth has been remarkable though...

After this last winter of endless rain at long last we have had a few days when the sun has shone and there has been no wind. Time to look around. This garden is usually very dry and to have so much rain in April and May has been a bonanza really and resulted in...

Snowdrops are gleaming in the garden now in time for our NGS open days tomorrow and Sunday 3rd and 4th February. i rather think some are flowering early this year perhaps because of the warm weather in December. Whatever the reason they are now looking wonderful and...

A few warm days and suddenly there they are - masses of them - their grey-green spikes pushing through the cold earth. It is extraordinary how one can be looking for favourite ones and see nothing there and then, almost as if a light had been switched on and they come...

January has hit us hard here in Kent with north east winds, bitter cold and snow which is still lying on the grass and decorating the garden with icy baubles clinging to leaves and branches. Snowdrops are mostly hidden under the snow but one corner of the garden is...

When November is at its gloomiest the first shoots of Galanthus Three Ships can be seen pushing towards the light. Now December is as grey and depressing as its predecessor but delightful and reliable as ever this wonderful snowdrop is now fully in flower and it only...

I can never get very excited about the early snowdrops. There is too much bleak winter weather ahead for them to inspire thoughts of spring. But my spirits did lift a little on a horrible cold frosty morning to see this little clump of Donald Sims under the wall...