Today in the orchard
The snowdrops answer the question
Although most of the plant world on the farm is still looking dormant, the daffodils and other spring bulbs are beginning to show green throughout the orchard. They will be bursting out of the soil any day now. We have planted them around nearly every tree. Something about the bulbs appears to deters voles. (Apple trees don’t like voles, but voles love apple roots!) The Snowdrops (Galanthus) are now in full bloom. The Galanthus genus includes about two dozen species. As far as I can tell, most are fairly obscure. The one we grow is probably a selection of G. nivalis. It is low-statured and spreads slowly by the production of new bulbs. Despite that, every year we see new patches far from the old ones, suggesting that they may also spread by seed. Either that or the old memory’s not quite what it used to be… “Where did I plant that Galanthus nivalis, anyway?”
