Ikariae originate from the Caucasus, with bright green shiny leaves and the bloom with a delicate horseshoe mark at the base of the inner flower. A rare Snowdrop, for a good effect plant these in the foreground with Nivalis and Flore Pleno in the background.

If you are looking for a snowdrop that has that extra impact, then Galanthus elwesii is worth looking out for. It is a giant-flowered snowdrop with honey-scented blooms, which have two delicate green marks on the petals.

For many gardeners snowdrops herald the end of winter. They are extraordinarily hardy and can be depended on to flower very early whatever the weather - the colder and gloomier it is, the longer the blooms last, but in a sunny warm season they are comparatively fleeting, so always plant in light shade. They grow in most soils, but make the best plants in heavier moist soils.

OUT OF STOCK FOR AUTUMN 2011 - PLEASE SEE BULBS IN THE GREEN CATEGORY.

Snowdrops prefer a moisture-retentive, humus-rich, woodland type soil. The site should be well-drained, cool and shady, but it shouldn"t dry out in summer. Most soils benefit from the incorporation before planting of a good quantity of well decomposed leaf mould or leaf-litter.