Snowdrops

Yesterday to a rather soggy and dogfull Nonsuch park (this being mid morning on a Saturday), to see the snowdrops of Herald Copse. Not fully out yet, but a splendid display nonetheless. A herald of spring indeed and we thought that maybe the copse had been named for the snowdrops for this very reason. Too soon after breakfast, so we passed on tea & cake from the European - probably Polish - ladies on this occasion.

Last year I reported the same snowdrops on 9th March, from which one can deduce that the snowdrops, despite the wet but because of the relative warmth, are around a month early.

A sample of other snowdrop dates being 22nd February 2007, 27th January 2008, 26th February 2009, 17th and 28th January in 2012. Those illustrated being from Hampton Court on 19th January just past, helped along by the shelter of the shrubs overhead and previously reported on 22nd January, on which occasion snowdrop pictures had been displaced by vandalism along Horton Lane.

And I can also report that there are signs of snowdrop now in the new daffodil bed and that some of the rather older snowdrops next to the path on the run up to the compost bin are in flower, albeit on rather short stems. While there is a much bigger clump in flower on the South Street bank, opposite the Epsom Playhouse.