The Wall Street Journal - 14.03.2020 - 15.03.2020

D8| Saturday/Sunday, March 14 - 15, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

F. MARTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, STYLING BY ANNE CARDENAS

The Stack Market

These sets of mugs, when nested,

add up to something more valuable

than the sum of their parts

FAST FIVE

From left: 1970s Vintage Stackable Ceramic Coffee Mugs,$35 for the set, chairish.com; Surreal Mug Set,$40, kik-

kerland.com; Lolli Stacking Cup, large,$22 each, store.moma.org; Stacking Skeleton Stacking Mug Set,about $52,

charlotteclarkltd.com;De Stijl Stacking Mugs,$35 for a set of three, burkedecor.com

M

YNOSEjust inches
above the muddy
dirt, I found myself
face to face with a
clump of pearly
white, honey-scented blossoms
pushing out of the cold Scottish
ground. I had taken the train
through the February snow and
sleet to see some of the 350 variet-
ies at the snowdrop festival at the
Cambo Estate in Fife. Thousands of
snowdrops ran riot along woodland
walks, and after I took a few spins
around the nodding, shimmering
drifts, my winter gloom melted.
A friend of mine had recently
confided he’d spent over $100 on a
single, tiny bulb. Such extravagance
for such a little flower! One need
only dip a toe into the world of
snowdrops, though, to discover the
galanthophile: an enthusiastic (often
eccentric) collector and grower of
snowdrops, or galanthus. This type
of gardener is thick on the ground in
Britain, where a longstanding pen-
chant for snowdrops has recently
exploded into a full-blown mania.
Galanthus plicatus ‘Golden Fleece,’
with distinctive chartreuse markings
on its outer petals, and Galanthus
woronowii ‘Elizabeth Harrison,’ with
its golden ovary, have sold for well
over $1,000 for single bulbs on eBay.
The fever is spreading to America,
too, with specialist nurseries im-
porting rare cultivars from England,
and festivals popping up like the
Galanthus Gala in Downingtown, Pa.,
in its fourth year.
“I love them because they come
up so early—there is nothing else
around. To me, they signal spring,”

said Carolyn Walker, owner of Car-

olyn’s Shade Gardens in Bryn

Mawr, Pa. Her specialty snow-

drops, like yellow-marked Galan-

thus ‘Wendy’s Gold,’ often sell out

in 48 hours at $75 per bulb. She

frequently limits customers to one

bulb of the varieties, which take

years to propagate.

Collecting galanthus appeals in

part because even in small gardens,

you can fit in a dozen species—

tricky with rose bushes or rhodo-

dendrons. Snowdrops are gracious,

too; they entertain during the

harsh transition between winter

and spring but disappear when the

border blooms in earnest.

Usually set in naturalistic clumps

among shrubs or in swaths under

trees, they thrive in moist, well-

drained soil and dappled shade. Na-

tive to Europe and southwest Asia,

snowdrops embrace cold weather,

surviving in USDA hardiness zones 3

to 7. And a happy snowdrop will

multiply after a few years.

Planting is most successful “in

the green” as the Brits say, mean-

ing while blooming, so plants can

establish themselves before their

summer dormancy.

Back in Scotland, I noticed that

varieties that at first appeared

similar revealed striking details

when I stooped low. Galanthus

‘Lady Elphinstone’ hides yellow-

green double-ruffled inner petals

and releases a gentle honey fra-

grance. Other cultivars differ only

via green daubs on inner petals,

outer petals or both, as in Galan-

thus ‘Viridapice.’

The paths thronged with garden-

goers in muddy Wellies and downy

coats, cinching their scarfs against

the winter chill. Couples huddled

together, noting the minuscule dif-

ferences in their gardening jour-

nals. And as I sloshed around, I be-

gan my own snowdrop wish list.

BYAMYMERRICK

Galanthus plicatus

‘Wendy’s Gold’

With a distinct yellow ovary and long

yellow mark, the aptly named

‘Wendy’s Gold’ stands out in a world

of white and green galanthus.

Galanthus plicatus

‘Three Ships’

Early to flower, ‘Three Ships’ comes

sailing in for Christmas with

rounded, puckered petals and a

reluctance to spread

Galanthus

‘Viridapice’

With seemingly painted green

outer tips and a dotted inner

segment, ‘Viridapice’ is a strong-

growing variety that spreads well.

Galanthus

‘Walrus’

A great eccentric in

the snowdrop world, ‘Walrus’ has

long, green-tipped “tusks”

and a double flowering center.

Galanthus

‘Lady Elphinstone’

An alluring white-and-yellow double

flower, ‘Lady Elphinstone’ can be

capricious, some years

blooming green.

HAIL, GALANTHUS/RARE BRITISH IMPORTS THAT ARE CHARMING AMERICAN GARDENERS—IN THEIR OWN TINY WAY

DESIGN & DECORATING

Specialty-Bulb

Purveyors

Edgewood Gardens,Exton, Pa.,

edgewoodgardens.net

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens,Bryn

Marr, Pa.,

carolynsshadegardens.com

Brandywine Snowdrops

Brandywinesnowdrops@com-

cast.net

Temple Nursery,PO Box 591,

Trumansburg, N.Y. 14886

AMY MERRICK; AGATA WIERZBICKA (ILLUSTRATIONS)

IF YOU GET MY DRIFTOne of the woodland walks at the Cambo Estate in Fife, the home of Scotland’s national collection of snowdrops.

A mania for the fragrant,

delicate flowers is

blooming stateside

Snowdrops on the Rise

WE VOTE FOR TOMORROW