Joy Of The First Snowdrops!!

So happy today as I stepped outside to go shopping I saw the very first snowdrop of the year in our front garden!! 

I try to embrace every season but I do find Winter the hardest one to love! Snowdrops however always fill my heart with joy. I know now that nature is waking up and spring is not too far away.

I don't see so many people growing Snowdrops in their gardens these days and I do not understand why.


Snowdrops are undemanding plants and once planted out you can mostly forget about them. They happily multiply each year to give you a beautiful display, then once flowering is over they die down and that's it for another year until you suddenly find one on a cold January day to warm your heart.  

I divide our snowdrops every few years simply so that I can distribute more around the garden. It also prevents them from getting too congested. Dividing them is easy, simply dig up a clump while they still have their leaves. 

Separate gently teasing apart with your hands. Replant some in the original place and plant the rest in small clumps around the garden. Water in and you are done!   

If you are a fan of snowdrops, here is a lovely book. The Plant Lovers Guide To Snowdrops. A lovely gift for yourself or a loved one. 

If you would like to join me and grow snowdrops in your garden it is so easy! 

NEVER dig any snowdrops up from the wild! Rather purchase these plants "in the green" -that means while that they are lifted while they still have leaves and remains of flowers. 

Once you have brought them home or they are delivered try to plant them very soon afterwards for best results.If you leave it for days or worse weeks you may have a high failure rate.

Planting of snowdrops in the green is best done in the Spring time around March.
Plant a few inches under the soil, water then leave them to get on with it. 

As they are small delicate-looking flowers, It is ideal to plant them where you can see them easily. A front garden or even in a raised planter would be great. 

One of my fave flowers, so beautiful, so delicate looking yet tough little flowers that appear in the coldest months of the year and certainly bring joy to my heart! 

If you love snowdrops  you may like to check my store for snowdrop gifts and greeting cards! 

Snowdrops
by Annie (Raintree Designs)

Do you like Snowdrops? Do you grow them or love to simply admire them? 

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Creating A Garden For Birds In Winter

One of the wonderful parts of having a garden is that even in the depths of winter you can look out the window and see nature. 

Even on a freezing cold and windy day like today when, even a a keen gardener, I know I will probably do more harm than good tramping across wet grass and muddy borders, I can look out and see our lovely garden and all the wildlife that visit.

 For me now the garden and the wildlife are intrinsically bound together. What happens with one affects the other so now I always try to keep both in mind with everything I do. 

I love birds and get so much pleasure from seeing all the different ones, hearing them singing away so beautifully, having them nest in our garden and all their lovely antics all year I always want to help them through the often difficult winter months.

So at this time of year I sort out all the bird feeders and go to the shops or the farmer's markets and stock up on the bird feed.

I usually get a variety of bird food so that different birds may enjoy it. We have many different birds visit our garden such as blackbirds, starling, thrushes, sparrows, greenfinch, wood pigeon and many more! So I have just bought some sunflower seed, niger seeds and fat balls. I will be getting more in as the weeks go by.

Then I position the bird feeders especially those for smaller birds, so that they are grouped together but a fair distance from each other to reduce squabbling and high enough so they are hopefully out of reach of ground predators. Then its just a matter of waiting.

After years of careful planting for wildlife with a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs with lots of cover and food, there is an abundance of berries and autumn bounty in our garden.

So I do wonder if the birds may not need quite so much from me this year but we do not yet know what kind if winter it will be mild or severe or somewhere in between, so I will give the birds the option! 

Many of our songbirds are declining in number so I think they need all the help we can give.

Also, I do love to watch them at the feeders and if possible take some photographs so it is always lovely when they do visit.

It is also important to leave water for the birds and we have a large birdbath that they visit every day. 

We change the water every day as birds from tiny sparrows to large wood pigeons do love to bathe in it a lot! 

During the freezing weather, we always go out and break the ice on it so they always have access to clean fresh water.

You may like to read more about the importance of a Bird Bath in Do You Have A Bird Bath In Your Garden? 

The birds in our garden give me such a lot and are such an integral and important part of our natural world.

 It is lovely to know that by planting the trees and shrubs they love for cover and berries and I love for how they look and make me feel,  that I can help the wildlife out a little as well. 

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