The Snowdrops at the end of the garden are going strong. In the past few days the drooping flowers have opened up to reveal the bold green markings within.
 This colony was here when I moved in, presumably planted by a previous tenant. They have increased slowly in the time I've been here and no doubt have been doing so over decades. Each year I divide a few clumps and plant them away from the main group to increase their spread. Like all bulbs they clump up by producing offsets (small bulbs) which separate from the parent bulb. I assume they must be self-seeding as well though I have read that Snowdrops don't set viable seed in the UK.
 Galanthophiles are obsessive about the many varieties and variations to be found among the Galanthus genus. For me the effect of seeing them en masse is what I love most. The ones in the garden are most likely some variation on the Common Snowdrop (G. nivalis) though I'm not sure which one- possibly 'Sam Arnott' as discovered by the 19th. century Scottish Galanthophile of that name?