Galanthus nivalis Sam Arnott

Galanthus nivalis 'S. Arnott' is an old variety of snowdrop, cultivated since the 1950s. It is highly appreciated for its vigour and large flowers with a slight honey fragrance. This lively little bulb produces a tuft of grey-green foliage that is more vigorous than other snowdrops. It displays large, single white flowers with widely spread sepals. Plant the bulbs in a moist rockery, a light woodland, or in a border where it can be admired up close. You can enjoy its fragrance that develops in calm and sunny weather. It flowers from mid-March. This sturdy variety naturalises easily and quickly in the garden, and requires no maintenance.

Galanthus nivalis is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant from the Amaryllidaceae family, native to Europe. Its beautiful blooms herald the arrival of spring. The 'Sam Arnott' variety is a particularly robust form of this plant. It develops a lovely clump measuring 25cm (10in) in height, composed of fairly dark green ribbon-like leaves with a touch of grey. In February, it produces one or two stems per bulb, each bearing a particularly large flower, 5cm (2in) wide, carried outward from the clump and inclined toward the ground. The flowers consist of 3 long, airy white sepals, crowning a small central corolla that is white and marked with a dark green heart-shaped or 'V' spot. The flowers are delightfully fragrant. The foliage yellows, then disappears in late spring. Snowdrops produce seeds, as well as numerous bulblets that help them to spread over time.

Galanthus nivalis 'S. Arnott' is one of the first flowers to appear in spring, just after Crocus chrysanthus, Christmas roses, and squills. It will thrive in a moist rockery, alongside creeping bugleweed, Anthyllis montana 'Rubra', and an easy-to-grow fern called Blechnum penna-marina. These plants will occupy the space left by the snowdrops once their foliage has dried up, without suffocating the bulbs. It is ideal for light woodland, preceding the flowering of hellebores and corydalis. In cool climates, it tolerates sunny exposures at the edge of a border. It also grows very well in pots.