Snowdrops
Snowdrops (Galanthus) can be seen from late January depending on weather.
The pretty flowers are one of the first to come out in the year and are a sign that spring is not so far away.
This small village near Dorchester is covered in snowdrops. The river Piddle runs through it and the banks are blanketed with the pretty white flowers.
DT2 7HH
Compton Valence is a small village seven miles west of Dorchester. Thousands of snowdrops can be found in the banks of the road leading into it.
DT2 9ER
Here you can find over six million snowdrops and 40 different species. They cover the ground along Lime Avenue and Lady’s Walk at this National Trust property. Passionate horticulturalist Henrietta Bankes first asked her gardener to plant snowdrops here in the early 1900s. You can also spot them along the banks of the Japanese Garden between the bamboo and there are plenty among the trees in the Victorian Fernery.
Wimborne Minster, Dorset, BH21 4EA www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kingston-lacy
Lawsbrook Garden, founded in 1959, is privately owned but part of the National Garden Scheme. It covers six acres of garden and is open by appointment only on various days throughout the year.
Brodham Way, Shillingston, DT11 0TE
15 acres of gardens! Many of the snowdrops can be found in the arboretum.
Beaminster DT8 3NR mapperton.com
The Capability Brown style gardens are about a mile long and have plenty of snowdrops.
Dorchester DT2 7AU minterne.co.uk
Britain’s first Snowdrop Town and home to the Snowdrop Festival. In 2012 for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee the town was planted with thousands of snowdrops, creating various snowdrop trails. In February three are plenty of snowdrop-themed events and activities.
shaftesburysnowdrops.org
Beautiful drifts of snowdrops.
Mill Street, Fontmell Magna, Shaftesbury SP7 0NU www.springheadtrust.org.uk
Tyneham Village (known as Dorset’s lost village) is open for visitors through the year, but you’ll need to check before you visit because of the firing ranges. See snowdrops in the churchyard and surrounding area.
Wareham, BH20 5QF www.tynehamopc.org.uk
The botanical gardens are covered in snowdrops.
Poole BH17 7BJ uptoncountrypark.com
