Snow Flowers

by Derek Fell

One of the delights of living in Bucks County is the probability of snow during winter and periods of cold that can freeze the ground to twelve inches and more. The cold snaps are good for many perennials such as peonies, oriental poppies and bearded irises because they need a period of frost in order to rejuvenate themselves. Some hardy flowers will even bloom early, before the daffodils are in flower, and they shrug off late snowfalls with ease. Perennial snowdrops, of course, are famous for pushing through soil at the first sign of a warming trend to bloom early, while perennial winter aconites – with their shimmering buttercup-type blooms – will flower at the same time and create a wonderful plant partnership, especially in deciduous woodland where they will bloom and seed themselves even before the leaves are fully unfurled. 

Another good companion for snowdrops and aconites is the hellebore, especially the one commonly called Lenten rose, because here at my home, Cedaridge Farm they will bloom January through April, their large cup-size blooms in white, pink and red – all exotically freckled. Moreover, they seed so prolifically, the seedlings will germinate around the mother plant, allowing me to dig them up and transplant them. From an original planting of 50 year-old roots from Piccadilly Plant Farms, Georgia, I now have thousands that bloom riotously in woodland, many of them mingling with clumps of Tete a Tete miniature daffodils. I have these growing under small winter-flowering witch hazel trees that present clouds of spidery yellow or orange flowers depending on variety as early as February. 

My favorite among winter flowering plants is the snow iris from the Caucasus Mountains since it blooms several weeks ahead of daffodils, while the bright blue flowers will re-seed and divide to form generous drifts in sunlight.  If you want to see a really spectacular local winter display, visit the Winterthur estate, Delaware, where the late Henry duPont planted what is called the March Walk. Threading through a grove of tall tulip trees, the verges of the path feature large drifts of the winter-flowering plants I have recommended, and others–such as yellow Adonis (a larger flowered version of aconites) and windflowers (an early-blooming anemone.)

Although flowers that bloom before the last snowfalls of winter are generally best planted in rockeries and along woodland paths, I like to see their effect enhanced by a structure such as a gazebo, bridge or arbor. But be sure to check about local codes. I recently erected a second gazebo at the top of a slippery slope for visitors to have an elevated view of my woodland garden, only to receive a letter from the township saying that it needed a permit. When I applied for the permit the code officer refused to grant it because the set-back in that area had to be 50 feet and my gazebo was 40 feet even though it was completely screened by trees from the road. I appealed to the Township supervisors to keep it where it was, and they approved my appeal, but then I discovered their recommendation had to meet the approval of the Bucks County Zoning Board, and that demanded a $1,500 fee with no guarantee I would be granted a variance, so I had to remove it and today the gazebo still sits, dismantled in my barn.

Another good feature to enhance snow-blooming flowers is the proximity of a waterfall, and one of the best I have seen in Bucks County is at the rear of the Cuttalossa Inn, on Cuttalossa Road, off River Road north of New Hope. There, the Cuttalossa Creek has been dammed to create a spillway framed by clumps of yellow forsythia which is an easy-to-grow early flowering shrub.

To make a garden look interesting during winter, one must also consider the tracery of branches that some shrubs and trees can make. I have mentioned tulip poplars, with their pencil-straight trunks, but a more compact woody plant to consider is the deciduous Siberian dogwood which has red juvenile stems that shine brightly against bleak winter landscapes. There are also yellow and orange versions of it, and when these are planted in a group along a stream the effect can be magical whether there is snow, fog or rain. 

DEREK FELL is a prolific garden writer who has won more awards from the Garden Writers Association than any other person for his photography and books. He is also editor of the Avant Gardener, a monthly on-line full-color newsletter (visit avantgardener.info to see a sample issue.)