They may be small but they pack a mighty punch, contain enough anti-freeze to resist some VERY chilly temperatures and their deceivingly delicate petals can pierce the most frozen of grounds - they are of course #snowdrops.
And #Shaftesbury snowdrops are very special flowers with a legendary link to a Viking prisoner (whose aptly named '#Galanthus' bag contained a number of bulbs) captured by the Great Knights of King Alfred.
#ShaftesburySnowdropSeason is the brainchild of project leader, #PamCruickshank who, with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee rapidly approaching in 2012, sought to find a way in which the town of Shaftesbury, could commemorate (to quote the #ShaftesburySnowdropHerald) "a sustainable and universally embraced celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee". There are 20 species of wild snowdrop in the world and up to 2,000 cultivated varieties and #ShaftesburyAbbey will feature a good number of these with its heritage display, 9th - 17th February, as will the "Best in the West" sale of unusual and rare snowdrops on Saturday 9th February, 1.00pm - galanthophile heaven! Thought I'd capture a few of these species in wool. And the more research I did, the more I began to see these snowdrops as individual characters with their own little stories to tell. The galanthus nivalis (some of which I helped to plant back in 2012) in Shaftesbury's Trinity Churchyard have multiplied yet again since last year. During the snow last week I went and took some photos...
My felt entry in #ShaftesburyArtsCentreSnowdropExhibition2019 features the following snowdrops...
Top row (left to right) Galanthus nivalis Viridapice, Galanthus plicatus Wendy's Gold, Galanthus plicatus South Hayes, Galanthus hybrid Cowhouse Green,.
Bottom row (l-r) Galanthus woronowii, Galanthus plicatus Diggory, Galanthus nivalis Blewbury Tart, Galanthus hybrid Mrs Thompson.