We've had the worst winter for 30 years here in the UK. Everything is weeks behind. I was reading a report about daffodils being in short supply for Mother's Day this weekend.

My sister and I had a lovely day at Belsay Hall gardens last Sunday enjoying the snowdrops.

I came home via Ulgham yesterday and stopped by the beautiful old church there which has some wonderful drifts of snowdrops and aconites. The rooks were busy collecting nesting materials nearby.

Glorious shots, Sue, thanks so much for sharing! I see another mass planting I need to strive toward- that sunny yellow and white are such wonderful harbingers of spring. Folks have been reporting bulbs are weeks behind throughout much of this country too, I hadn't heard the same thing was going on in the UK. My snowdrops, aconites, and snow crocus are blooming nicely now too, about 3 weeks behind when they're usually blooming.

Do snowdrops bloom before their foliage comes up?
A very nice lady sent me some for postage, and the last two years all we've seen is the foliage and no flowers, boo-hoo!
How long do the flowers last?

Mine bloom along with foliage, like a daffodil. I find the blooms rather long lasting, those early bulbs that bloom while its cool out tend to last well, unless its one of those springs when it just goes from cold to hot- that tends to shorten the bloom life.

I can't imagine what would be keeping yours from blooming? Are they in a thick clump that perhaps need dividing?

No, I spread them out. I have small rows in 3 different spot (all close to each other)
Maybe I have them in too much shade? Although this time of year there ain't much shade! lol

They do their thing before the trees leaf out, so shade usually isn't an issue for them. Do they appear to be increasing?

Yes, they look better and fuller this year than last year.

Maybe try some bulb food, possibly they're lacking some nutrients.

OK! Thanks, Neal

snowdrops in garden...

Those are actually snowflakes, Leucojum, not snowdrops. I saw a whole bank of them recently and they were gorgeous.

Oooh, those Snowflakes are beautiful! I NEED some of those!

Susan, I just thought of something else that could be the issue with your Snowdrops. Some bulb plants won't bloom if they're planted too deeply, do you think that could be the case?

Hmmm. I don't think so, our soil is so hard it's hard to dig a deep hole!

Thanks for the clarification kniphofia.

Susan, any change with your Snowdrops this year? I have one little clump of them in bloom right now, such sweet little things. I also realized that the spot where they're growing is one where I filled in with a bunch of soil and compost, so now those bulbs are quite deep. Didn't stop them though. I noticed I'd suggested above that perhaps yours were too deep, which sounds doubtful with your hard soil anyway, but now I see that wouldn't stop them.

NUTHIN! Nice green leaves, though.

How puzzling! Do you grow other spring bulbs that succeed?

Lots of Crocus are blooming here now, and the first few Daffs have opened. The weather has been beautiful the last few days here, so I've been haulin' ass to get the beds cleaned up and mulched.

I have crocus and daffs blooming. My so-called beds are a mess, too. Full of leaves!

Yep, full of leaves and dead stems from last year here too. I didn't get anything cleaned up in the fall. I typically let the leaves remain during the winter, but I'm kinda torn as to if I should or not. On one hand, it does provide a nice insulating blanket for the beds, but on the other, it also provides a very convenient place for rodents to live too. Previously I had more cats running around, but this winter I'm down to 2 cats, so I don't know if they've been able to keep up. Hoping the Lily bulbs haven't been feeding the rodents all winter