There’s an episode of Father Ted where Mrs Doyle wins a competition and the prize is a visit from pop superstar Eoin McLove, who has a devoted following of middle-aged women. Despite being sworn to secrecy, word gets out and soon every housekeeper on Craggy Island swarms the parochial house. They break a window and find Eoin asleep inside. The women crowd around exchanging their thoughts on how lovely he is.
Where art meets biology: How Anne Wright has bred some of the world s most covetable snowdrops countrylife.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from countrylife.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Clumps of early snowdrops make for a stunning early spring display in any garden
Credit: Getty Images
Every year, headline-grabbing snowdrops change hands on eBay for enormous sums. In February 2015, Joe Sharman’s deliberately bred and appropriately named ‘Golden Fleece’ went for an eye-watering £1,390.
But, as I know to my cost, an expensive snowdrop is not necessarily a good garden plant. Some resolutely refuse to bulk up, making more impact on your bank balance than on your garden. And demand constantly outstrips supply, so the price never comes down.
I’ve had just two bulbs of
Galanthus nivalis ‘Flocon de Neige’, a six-petalled snowdrop, for years. I have also grown the pixie-hatted