Snowdrops lighten the heart

Pretty much the first flower to appear, the gentle snowdrop lifts our hearts in the early weeks of the year. Ours opened a few days ago. I see them from the kitchen window & they always make me smile.

Five Snowdrop facts 

1. Although there are 20 species of wild snowdrop, they aren’t native to Britain; it is assumed they arrived before 1600.
2. They are named after earrings – in the Tudor era white drop shaped earrings were popular.
3. Don’t take them from the wild – snowdrops are protected in the UK and since 1995 international trade has been tightly regulated.
4. There is an Annual Snowdrop festival – you can visit snowdrop gardens around the UK, learn more from the National Garden Scheme at ngs.org.uk 
5. There are around 2000 species of cultivated snowdrop & enthusiasts are called galanthophiles, exchanging cultivated bulbs for hundreds of pounds..