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Gareth Austin

Gareth Austin - Get outside and enjoy the Snowdrops

Image: Gareth Austin Gardening

Introducing our new Man in the Garden: Gareth Austin

firmus energy is delighted to welcome Horticulturist Gareth Austin to their team. Many of our customers from the North and West will know Gareth as the voice of Gardening on BBC Radio Foyle, where Gareth's popular take on all things gardening can be heard every weekly on the Mark Patterson Show. Gareth's first blog is on his love of Snowdrops. Enjoy!

Get outside and enjoy the Snowdrops!

I love Snowdrops....I adore Snowdrops....and I get the feeling I’m not alone! Events across Northern Ireland to celebrate the arrival of these carpets of snow white are always fierce popular. The arrival of Snowdrops for many is the ‘Get Outside’ bell that rings in their head, great drifts of Snowdrops bring families out in their droves. Many a great family picture is taken of young James or Sarah sitting in fields of Snowdrops.

Image: blossoming snowdrops

Snowdrops are a relatively easy to grow bulb, favouring soil which is rich in organic material and which doesn’t dry out completely in summer months. Once established they self-seed and ‘naturalise’ areas within woodlands creating good displays in a few decades but fabulous displays occur when you leave these areas uncultivated for centuries. And this is where the ‘old houses’ of Ulster come into their own, some fabulous displays of naturalised snowdrops can be admired within the great gardens of Ulster, properties like Ballyscullion Park in Bellaghy, Palace of Downhill Nr Castlerock, MoneyMore House in Magherafelt, Glenarm Castle, Oakfield Park & Glenveagh Castle in Donegal, Prehen House in Derry and The Argory in Armagh to name but a few, have carpets of Snowdrops that you need to get outside and enjoy!

Snowdrops herald a valuable food source

Snowdrops although commonplace here in Ulster aren’t actually native to here, they’re introduction to the British Isles hailes from Roman Times, and their spread throughout Great Britain and Ireland is testament to the attraction which garden owners had for them, and in turn the Snowdrops ability to thrive in our climate. Indeed the arrival of Snowdrops herald a valuable food source for many of our native insects, and their desirability ensures they are freely pollinated and in turn produce seeds each year. These seeds fall from the parent onto the ground nearby, sit dormant all year and then the cold weather breaks this dormancy and they germinate the following spring, growing each year and then flowering after 5-7 years.

Waiting a century for a great show

For many of us impatient to create banks of Snowdrops around our houses the idea of letting nature take its course and waiting a century for a great show of Snowdrops is not an option, so instead a quicker way of ‘speeding up’ the process is to lift and divide the Snowdrop clumps every few years immediately after flowering, spacing the clumps in turn a foot or so apart. A great example of what can be created, in a relatively short timeframe is the gorgeous Ballyrobert Cottage Gardens in Ballyclare.

When we think of Snowdrops it’s always the common Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, which comes to mind. However you do get around 250 different types you can can grow here in Northern Ireland, each one has a slight difference, either in flower size, flowering time, flower colour etc...Indeed it’s possible to have Snowdrops in your garden for 5 months, through careful choice of varieties.

National Trust Northern Ireland
 

Why not connect with some of these gardens mentioned via their Facebook pages and keep an eye out for planned Snowdrop walks, as many properties offer guided Snowdrop tours - indeed the National Trust here in Northern Ireland is great for their ‘Snowdrop Weekends’. Just wrap up warm, get the wellyboots on you, a blanket for the dog and get outside and enjoy glorious Ulster!

Connect with Gareth
 

Gareth Austin is a broadcaster and lecturer in Horticulture. Join Gareth on Twitter @GardenerGareth or connect via Facebook to enjoy his regular adventures in the world of Horticulture.

About the Author

Image: firmus energy Northern Aye online magazine
Northern Aye, firmus energy bloggers

firmus energy's monthly online content dedicated to all things Northern Ireland. Each month we will have features and interviews; competitions and giveaways; news and reviews and much more.

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