Breaking through the frosted ground, snowdrops are a welcome sign of spring and can be found in gardens, forests and grasslands across Northern Ireland.
Part of the Amaryllidaceae family, snowdrops grow in well-drained, fertile soil and habitats that provide full or partial sunlight. This hardy perennial plant can survive more than two years in the wild and can be spotted growing in abundance from late January through to March.
Carpets of white, dropping snowdrop heads are a sight to behold and snowdrop walks are a popular winter activity.
Magical snowdrop walks can be enjoyed at the following places:
Snowdrops have been lovingly cultivated at SpringhillNational Trust/ Bernie Brown
The delightful display of these pretty winter flowers seen across the lawns, alongside pathways and under trees at Springhill are a credit to the Head Gardener, John Boyle who over the last 16 years has spread the bulbs from a small stock of snowdrops 'hidden' in a small area of the woodland. Snowdrop plants will be available to buy, lovingly cultivated at Springhill. Snowdrop plants are available to buy, lovingly cultivated at Springhill.
Castle Coole has been designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency due to its rich parkland habitat and associated species. During winter the Beech Walk at Castle Coole finds itself carpeted in snowdrops.
Enjoy a relaxing stroll around the gardens and see how many different varieties of snowdrops you can spot. When little else in the bulb world has woken up the snowdrop will defy the cold damp soil.
This year the ranger team have been busy planting 3000 daffodil bulbs and 1000 snowdrop bulbs which will be starting to breakthrough in early February with the promise that spring is on its way. Choose to go self-guided or join one of our guided walks.
Snowdrops are threatened because of the uncontrolled collecting of plants from the wild. Some species of snowdrops are listed as vulnerable or even endangered.
The scientific name for the snowdrop is Galanthus nivalis. Name is coined from the Greek words "gala", which means milk, and "anthos" which means flower. Second part of the name, "nivalis", originates from Latin language and it means snow.
Snowdrops have a naturally occurring substance in them called galantamine. This is sold as a medication for Alzheimer’s disease under the name of Reminyl.
Snowdrops are seen as a symbol of hope, consolation and purity
