There’s no getting away from snowdrops when you live in Gloucestershire. They’re naturalised in the verges and we have several notable collections. I’ve just paid a long overdue visit to Painswick Rococo Garden to see its display.
Unlike some of the county’s snowdrop gardens, it relies not on the rarity of its flowers but rather the sheer scale – it’s been estimated that there are around five million blooms in the 10-acre garden. It’s a display made up of mainly two varieties, G. ‘Atkinsii’ at the top of the garden and G. nivalis (the common snowdrop) in the Snowdrop Grove. Some more modern varieties are planted above the maze, outside the historic part of the garden.
It had been a while since my last visit to the Rococo Garden, the UK’s only surviving example of this gardening style from the 1700s, and one of the first things I noticed was that the Eagle House has changed colour – it used to be more of a shell pink.
Dominic Hamilton, garden director, explained that the change was to bring it back in line with the Thomas Robins painting of 1748, a painting that has informed restoration of the garden.
“The colour is very specific on the painting. You can see it’s more red than pink.”
The other garden follies were as I remembered them. The Exedra is my favourite and perfectly set off by snowdrops in winter.
Winter is also the best time to see the structure of the Rococo Garden. I’m always fascinated by the beautifully trained fruit trees in the Kitchen Garden.
There are also more than just snowdrops to see with hellebores and the vibrant stems of cornus adding more colour.
Yet, for most visitors, February is all about the snowdrops and Dominic said they were having a particularly good year. Normally the end of the Snowdrop Grove, where it’s sunniest, flowers first with the rest gradually following on. The cold weather has kept the flowers in bloom for longer resulting in a widespread display.
“I think they are looking probably the best they’ve looked for a few years, because they’re all out at the same time,” said Dominic.
Even so, snowdrops are a fleeting display and this month is the time to see them. Even on a damp, grey day they were a beautiful sight.
Painswick Rococo Garden is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Tickets must be pre-booked for visits in February. Details here.
Enjoyed this? You can read about more of my garden visits here.
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