Divide your snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis, after blooming

Credit: Sharon Hanna

Snowdrops can be tricky to grow

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) can be tricky to grow from bulbs. A much easier and more reliable way to grow them is to divide plants after they finish flowering – friends will be glad to share as they multiply prolifically. Right behind this patch there was a surprise……

Peek-a-boo

Peeking out from the hole of an upside-down clay pot, these little snowdrops really wanted to get out into the light. You can see mache, also called lambs lettuce, in the upper left corner – this plant is another very early veggie in the garden, self-seeding prolifically. Mache is not sharp-flavoured and not to everyone’s taste, but it’s a welcome and super-easy edible green at this time of the year – make a salad of it with some of your early chives, walnut oil and a drizzle of balsamic. The French way to serve it is in a salad with chervil and chopped hard-cooked egg.