Snowdrop

So beautiful!!!

Craig, I had a view on those specimen growin in the woods naturally - they look the same... guess the question remains: What came first..?

Color combination is lovely!

Guess i have to wait for the naturally growing ones in the woods to open their blossoms - temperatures dropped again... :/

Thanks Yogesh

Beautiful....

Thank you, António.

Yes, Craig, that's what I thought after your info, too: what came first? I'll have a look at the speciemen I spotted in the woods and try to capture it similar.
Thanks a lot for the info!

Beautiful series Lars,refreshing this flower,i spott a snowdrop some weeks ago but the flowers where to far in the private garden to take a close up,from near its another world,very cool

Bit of a chicken and egg situation with the plants in the garden & in the woods. This could be the naturally occurring 'pleniflorus' form of Galanthus nivalis, which is supposed to spread vigorously but only by vegetative multiplication of its bulbs as it's sterile and sets no seed. Of course double flowered garden hybrids or cultivated varieties (cultivars) do exactly the same thing, hence the chicken and the egg - which came first? Is this form carpeting the woods or do you find the normal Galanthus nivalis in there too?

Btw, Craig - I wasn't certain about the exact species anyway...that's why I kept the scientific name only generally.

Thanks arlanda

Congratulations Lars

Craig - no worries about the 900 ;)
It's grown here in the garden, but we are very close to the woods where they grow naturally - but if you say it's a mutant, then theire obviously invasive to the woods. Or did I get you wrong?

Exotics aren't necessarily such a big problem (unless invasive as you say) for foraging at least, especially if they are in plant families which are also found as natives. Obviously, native is best, especially for the organisms that have very specific relationships with certain other species. The real issue here are the heavily hybridised double flowered plants that have been bred to appeal to humans but end up with next to no pollen or nectar and so many petals that access to any there might be is restricted. A lot garden Roses and Dahlia are a good example. Simple, flat open flowers are what most foraging pollinators love.

Craig, I do agree with you, which is why I have planted 95% natives in our yard - mainly for the benefit of the wildlife. I still like to enjoy a few of my favorite "exotics" too, but I'm careful not to introduce anything invasive.

Congrats on the 900 Lars!
That's one messed up snowdrop though. Is it part of a natural population or of a planting in a garden? It's just a real pet hate of mine that gardeners favor these mutants which are next to useless for insects to feed from over the more simple and to my eyes far more beautiful regular versions. A normal Galanthus is incredibly elegant and beautiful from below. I know these mutations occur in nature some times but they are an evolutionary dead end. There's a point to this, as the decimation of natural habitats makes it increasingly important that gardeners make their spaces of optimum use to other species. Bee populations are crashing, largely due to modern farming practices that eliminate nectar rich weeds from arable fields and growing flowers they can forage from could make a huge difference.
Apologies for ranting on your 900th but it needed to be said.

Thanks a lot, Karen

Congrats Lars on reaching the 900!
I love the double snowdrops - so beautiful!

WC

Thanks Galantliv and Sushil

best wishes for 900th

Yeah, what can I say... Well done! :)

I still try to capture the hidden beauties of the common species we pass nearly every season without taking a closer look - we really should, in order to know what's at stake if we continue treating our planet the way we do still.

Good thing they did. I've tweeted about it and linked to your spotting :D
I'm quite sure most of my friends will get just as surprised.

I have to admit that I also have never watched how they look from underneath :) This one was accidently turned lower side up - so it caught my eye and I was surprised by it as well. :)