It's lovely to see the snowdrops in flower but recently I heard a programme about snowdrop or "Galanthus" theft. With are over 1000 varieties some are VERY DESIRABLE - so much so that individual bulbs sell on e-bay for anything up to £100! Snowdrops are now big business and there are snowdrop conventions which Galanthophiles will travel miles to (even coming over from the continent).
A couple of nights ago my brother who lives in a cottage in a tiny hamlet told me that, on the roadside in front of the cottage, his clumps of snowdrops had been dug up, halved and replaced, with the soil neatly put back around them. They were at the side of the road in front of a hedge which I suspect made the culprit think they were fair game but having planted 500 bulbs last spring he wasn't impressed. As they were still in flower they probably won't even survive. Given he's a Police Inspector I guess the hamlet's inhabitants will be having to show the soles of their shoes for footprints! He said that forensic tests suggested the culprit had two feet and not four...
How very dare they?
Love Wend
you've reminded of the punchline and 'the police have nothing to go on " in relation to a toliet theft at the local police station....
ReplyDeletei'd never seen snowdrops in that light..ie something to rob.....how very dare they indeed.....
Snowdrops are the new Tulips of the day hey?
ReplyDeleteSandie xx
I just hope they survive. How galling for your brother.
ReplyDeleteThis angers me snow drops are a wild flower and should be left alone, its like all wild flowers its against the law i would not dream of doing that growing up in the country i was taught to respect nature etc. Bless him makes it harder being a police officer. dee x
ReplyDeleteWend,
ReplyDeleteHow petty is this? I cannot understand the mentality of someone who would perpetrate this act. Snowdrops are indeed sought after but I cannot tell them apart. I know we have different varieties in our garden because they flower at different times and are differing sizes but I tend to think 'so what' because I just love them for being there and flowering their hearts out at a dull time of the year. I hope he catches the culprit... Lesley
That is SO infuriating - and obviously done by a gardener who knew how to handle bulbs; I daresay they thought they were being 'good' by not taking all of them...
ReplyDeleteI love snowdrops and have lots. I know it is recommended to move "in the green" after flowering but I have moved mine whilst still in flower with no detriment so I hope your brother's will survive (perhaps if he ensures the soil has been put back all around the bulbs and waters them in).
ReplyDeleteSome ridiculous prices at the moment, all for tiny differences in the flowers. I'd rather get lots of "common" ones and see a massed display for my money.
Thats awful I would be very angry but I think they knew what they were doing though because they are best moved 'in the green'. My Dad once divided his large snowdrop boarder and accidentally took all the ones he wanted to move to another place to the tip by mistake to say he was peed off was an understatement - he was left with a bag of garden rubbish instead of his snowdrops.
ReplyDeleteCrikey! I would never have believed it! I must go out straight away and put barbed wire round all mine ... well maybe not, but really, what's it all coming to?? Nicking Snowdrops!
ReplyDeleteNow that is annoying! I intend to plant spring bulbs this year, never got around to it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cheek - a thief with half a conscience. Planting snowdrops 'in the green' is apparently the best way to divide them but I have never been able to establish them in my garden green or as bulbs. This year I have lots of leaves and one flower so your photo is a treat.
ReplyDelete