A Festival of Snowdrops Starts the Flowering Year at Cambo

Emily Jarvie

Jan 15 min read

from Alison Beaty (with images from Gabbi Beaty)

Think of a classic flower that symbolises winter, and your first thought is likely to be a snowdrop. These beautiful flowers bring us joy at a time when dark nights and freezing temperatures can sap our energy. However, I urge you to get your coat on and take a trip to Cambo Gardens to be enchanted by the Plant Heritage National Collection of snowdrops, featuring in their Snowdrop Festival.

Snowdrops originated in Europe, and it’s believed they were brought to the UK at least 500 years ago. Over the years, they were often grown in graveyards to celebrate Candlemas Day, which falls on the 2nd February, with bunches of them picked to decorate and brighten the interior of the church. Today, they are widespread across most of the UK, and debatably look best when seen en masse as a woodland carpet. Their striking white and green flowers delicately drooping over their slim stems makes them easy to identify, and provides a sight guaranteed to cheer you up, no matter how chilly the day might be.

The Latin name for a snowdrop is Galanthus nivalis, which translates to milk flower. While there is folklore telling of snowdrops bringing bad luck if the plant crosses the doorstep and enters the home, mostly the bad luck is likely for the plant, which doesn’t do well away from its natural, cool, damp habitat. Mostly, snowdrops are seen as a promise of hope and new opportunities, as winter days lengthen, and a new year begins.

Cambo’s Connection to Snowdrops

There are more than 275 different varieties of snowdrops in Cambo’s collection. Callum Halstead, Senior Gardener at Cambo, explained that over time, with such a range of species, inevitably new varieties will emerge, and for a gardener with a keen eye and a little patience, exciting discoveries can be made:

"Cambo opened its doors for visitors to walk in the snowdrop woods from the early 1900s,’ Callum said. ‘But it wasn’t until Lady Catherine Erskine started buying specialist varieties in the 1980s that the collection began to snowball. We hold one of five national collections of snowdrops in the UK, ours being the smallest (in number of varieties). So far, Cambo has introduced a small selection of good performing new varieties. These include Galanthus ‘Cambo Extra Tall’ (a vigorous early flowering hybrid of the common snowdrop, which is great for extending the season); G. ‘Magdalen Erskine’ (a hybrid of the Crimean Snowdrop – G. plicatus, which produces two flowers and is named for Sir Peter Erskine’s grandmother); and the recently discovered G. ‘Cambo Sunshine’, a beautiful, yellow-marked hybrid."

Woodland Snowdrops in the UK

If you go looking for snowdrops in your local woodlands, Callum said the ‘Common Snowdrop’ Galanthus nivalis is the one you are most likely to see.

"There are two common forms", Callum said. "The neat and elegant ‘singles’ that have three pure white outer floral segments, surrounding three smaller, green-marked inner segments; and the more blousy ‘doubles’, which often have at least five wide-spread outer segments, enclosing a messy petticoat of jumbled inner segments."

Snowdrops naturally spread by both seed and division, hence the beautiful carpets of flowers that we see in woodlands. They are part of the daffodil family Amaryllidaceae and behave in a similar manner to reproduce.

Gardeners’ Tips for Growing Snowdrops

"Fortunately, most snowdrops are relatively low maintenance plants, making them an excellent choice for gardeners of all abilities," Callum said. "Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’ is always highlighted as a top performing variety to grow. This vigorous hybrid bulks up quickly, and reliably produces large, perfectly formed flowers. These blooms are also honey-scented; a feature which is best enjoyed by cutting a small posy of flowers and bringing them into a warm room."

Callum explained that it’s important to not let snowdrops dry out, as this will kill them, and suggested the following tips for gardeners:

It is best to grow snowdrops in soil that mimics a woodland floor, with good amounts of moisture-retentive organic matter. Leaf mould is the perfect thing to add if you can get it, but garden compost will also do the trick.

Being a woodland bulb, any area that offers dappled shade would be a sensible choice of location.

Once established, the snowdrops might need to be kept moist during particularly hot dry spells, but otherwise they shouldn’t need much watering. Keep an eye on watering if you wish to grow your snowdrops in pots as these do tend to dry out quite swiftly.

The Cambo Snowdrop Festival

The first ever Scottish Snowdrop Festival was held at Cambo in 2006 and was led by Lady Catherine Erskine. Snowdrop festivals are now enjoyed across the country in gardens and woodlands.

"Catherine began selling Cambo snowdrop bulbs by mail order in 1986 to fund the rescue of the walled garden," Keri Ivins, Cambo’s Managing Director, said. "Many thousands of snowdrops are sold online from Cambo to gardens across the country each year."

The Snowdrop Festival for 2025 will run from January 25th to March 9th. Along with the snowdrops, there are winter garden borders, which feature hellebores and early flowering iris. There are also garden tours; themed events; 70 acres of woodlands to explore; paths to the beach; and Tamworth pigs and Skyrian ponies to see. For those of you who are interested in growing your own snowdrops, gardeners will be on hand to offer advice and there are a range of varieties to purchase or order online.

More to See and Do at Cambo

"We have a free weekly 'Stay and Play' campfire and nature crafts session for families on Sundays at 10.30am," Keri said, "and, during the snowdrop festival, Cambo also has a family woodland and audio trail through the snowdrops to spot mysterious Glingbobs and Tootfilts in Cambo Den."

Cambo Estate has been with the Erskine family for more than 300 years. It includes the walled garden, stables, coach house and carriage house, lodges, dovecote and two farms.

Cambo’s walled garden is the ever-changing jewel of the estate. It is about 2.5 acres in size and dates back 200 years. Throughout the year, it is a kaleidoscope of colour, and includes a prairie garden, edible garden, greenhouse, meandering paths, and is cut through the centre by a burn flowing to the North Sea.

Fruit and vegetables grown in the gardens are used in the café, where hearty soups and delicious cheese scones and cakes are wolfed down by hungry visitors. The stables, including the tack room, house a heritage exhibition, art and craft, and plants and produce from the gardens for sale.