Snowdrop gazing at Downton House

Downton House opens for the National Garden Scheme Snowdrop Festival next week. I’ve been to have a look around.

There’s nothing quite like a good winter garden to lift the spirits. Somehow, flowers have more impact on a cold, January day than in the middle of summer.

I had high hopes of a visit to Downton House. Its creator, Jane Kilpatrick, co-wrote one of my favourite books on snowdrops, The Galanthophiles, and there was a good chance of seeing lots of these dainty white blooms.

I wasn’t disappointed. There are snowdrops all over this Painswick garden, clustered in neat groups in raised beds or alongside shrubs, and drifting through borders.

Despite her obvious interest in snowdrops, Jane insists she’s not a collector – although she has around 60 different varieties. Unlike the sometimes fanatical galanthophiles (the name given to true collectors), she favours not the rare but the large.

“I not that interested in novelty for novelty sake,” she tells me. “I like big snowdrops.”

This is so that they are seen easily from her windows – often an advantage with any winter or early spring flowers.

*Libertia peregrinans* is a great foil for the snowdrops.

Even so, she has some fine varieties, many of them bearing the names of the growers who established the idea of collecting snowdrops, including ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’, ‘Atkinsii’, named for James Atkins who lived in Painswick, and ‘Daphne’s Scissors’, discovered by Daphne Chappell at Chedworth.

*Galanthus* *elwesii* *‘Grumpy’* was hiding his unhappy face.

Downton House has some good ideas for planting combinations – snowdrops are often better with a friend. The marbled leaves of cyclamen, dark foliage of a purple-leaved bergenia, and the rusty tones of Libertia peregrinans are all used to good effect.

*Galanthus elwesii* ‘Daphne’s Scissors’.

I also spotted some other beautiful early performers. A German-bred hellebore has beautifully upright blooms, unlike the more usual hanging heads. It appeared to be gazing out over the walled garden and the colour was stunning in the late winter sunshine.

*Helleborus* x *glandorfensis* ‘Ice N Roses Red’.

Ribes laurifolium Rosemoor form is being allowed to sprawl over the corner of a raised bed, its yellow-green flowers a lovely contrast to the snowdrops.

And there are aconites splashing the carefully mulched borders with gold. I always envy anyone who can get these to grow. I’ve tried several times but they just don’t like my garden.

*Eranthis hyemalis* or winter aconites adding a touch of gold.

It was my first garden visit of the year and Downton House was a great way to start.

Downton House, Painswick, Gloucestershire, is open for the National Garden Scheme’s Snowdrop Festival on February 6 and February 7, 2023. Visit the website for more details.

Top image: Galanthus ‘Bertram Anderson’ planted with Libertia peregrinans.

You can read about more of my garden visits here.

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