Botanical Snowdrop (botanical style)

The snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, takes its scientific name from the Greek for milk flower. It's long been naturalised in Britain, though it may not be truly native. Each flower has three outer petals that open in sunshine and three shorter inner ones marked with green, and these markings are what collectors study closely. People who collect snowdrop varieties are called galanthophiles, and named varieties now run into the thousands.

Snowdrops flower in January and February, often in drifts under deciduous trees and shrubs. They grow best in soil that stays moist and is rich in leaf mould. Dry bulbs bought in autumn often fail, so plant them 'in the green', just after flowering, in February or March. That's also the time to lift congested clumps, divide them gently and replant at the same depth. Leave the leaves to die down naturally, as they're feeding next year's flowers.

A whole clump of snowdrops is drawn here, bulbs and roots included, on a cream ground. Showing what's below the soil matters with snowdrops, because they're moved and shared as living clumps. The picture captures them at flowering time, the same moment you'd lift and divide them.