Step out onto the white carpet this winter and enjoy the beautiful displays of snowdrops at the National Trust’s Oxburgh Estate. Pull on your walking boots or wellies, wrap up warm and explore the scenic landscape with a snowdrop tour at Oxburgh. The delicate white flowers are currently transforming the woodland floor and are the first bulbs of the year to bloom, a welcoming sight in the winter months.
At Oxburgh Estate you’ll find broad drifts of Galanthus nivalis and Galanthus nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’, the double snowdrop, which has naturalised throughout the woodlands, as well as Galanthus elwesii and other species in the woodland nearest the Hall. The carpet of white is also scattered with pops of bright yellow from winter aconites and some of the earliest narcissus varieties, which will soon form a colourful tapestry of early spring bulbs.
However, the National Trust is now seeking to find out more about its snowdrop collection at Oxburgh Estate. Senior Gardener, Dea Fischer, explains: “Records of snowdrop plantings aren’t complete at Oxburgh, so we’ll be welcoming some experts to help survey and classify our snowdrop collection this month, as well as identify the different species currently growing here. Self-seeded colonies of naturalised snowdrops provide great conditions for new hybrids to appear. We might even discover a new ‘Oxburgh’ hybrid among them.”
Oxburgh’s snowdrop collection is quickly followed by a springtime display of daffodil and narcissus varieties through March and April, with bluebells arriving in May.
Oxburgh’s snowdrop tours run from 3 February-27 February 2023. Visitors can wander through the displays with the Senior Gardener or knowledgeable garden volunteers and learn about the snowdrops and spring bulbs that carpet Oxburgh’s woodland. Tours with the Senior Gardener require pre-booking and a suggested £5 donation, which helps care for Oxburgh’s gardens. Normal admission applies. Find out more here.
