Snowdrop Country

Published: Jan. 14, 2021, 3:30 p.m.

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Over the past decade there\\u2019s been an explosion in \\u201cSnowdrop Mania\\u201d \\u2013 galanthophiles, or snowdrop fans, desperate to get their hands on the newest species of snowdrops, paying hundreds, or even upwards of a \\xa31000 at auction for a single bulb.

Two years ago, Radio 4 producer Polly Weston heard of a man in Somerset who had discovered and named many of the most sought after varieties \\u2013 Alan Street. Polly pictured following him around the countryside in search of the snowdrop which might make him his fortune. The truth turned out to be very different. Alan works for a family-owned nursery, where new varieties of snowdrop seed themselves around a little woodland \\u2013 thanks in part to the huge number of species they already grow, working in collaboration with the family\\u2019s bees. Alan\\u2019s lost count of the number he\\u2019s discovered and named \\u2013 \\u201c50, 70, 100 or more perhaps\\u2026 I\\u2019ve more than enough.\\u201d Yet he still keeps looking. He isn\\u2019t interested in money \\u2013 the auctioning of snowdrops to the highest bidder makes him uneasy \\u2013 and has spawned the unfortunate side effect of snowdrop crime \\u2013 people stealing snowdrops. As we record, 13,000 are dug up one night from an abbey in Norfolk. Alan is ever vigilant. Once upon a time, snowdrop bulbs were only ever swapped by galanthophiles, just for the love of it.

Through the seasons, Alan tends and protects this small landscape, and cultivates each of his newly discovered, and rare varieties. We begin to realise the meaning behind each one \\u2013 many are named after people, many of whom Alan knew and have now gone. It takes years for new varieties to become established and ready to be shared. But as we follow the progress of Alan\\u2019s snowdrop landscape through 2020, we approach a snowdrop season which has never been so meaningful or welcome.

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