Snowdrops from England

Milleski on see varane kevad ka õnnestunud. Andis võimaluse!
Eks ma neid lumikellukesi olin varem ka vaadanud ja mõelnud, unistanud. Aga alati tundusid nad na kallid ja kauged ja kättesaamatud. No ja kogu see oksjonivärk võõras ka.

Inglismaal müüakse lumikellukesi üliselt vaid varakevadeti ja rohelistena ehk 'in green', mis tähendab, et õisi (st õit) näeks vast alles tuleval kevadel, seda siiski, kui reis ja kohanemine hästi lähevad. Ja nii ma arutlesin, et kui mitte nüüd, siis läheb jälle aasta ... ja mida teha tavalisel aastal saabuva lumikellukesega jaanuaris-veebruaris, kui meil on sügav talv?! Kuid nüüd näis olevat just sobiv võimalus! Avasin E-bay, natuke uurimist ja uudistamist ning 'jaht' võiski alata. Tõttöelda kõige esimene lumikelluke Galatnhus nivalis 'Wendy's Gold' õnnestus mul osta esimese, viimasel hetkel tehtud pakkumisega. Teistega enam nii kergelt ei läinud, oli nii tõelisi enampakkumisheitlusi, liiga kõrgeid hindu või lihtsalt aeglasi näppe viimase hetke pakkumiste tegemisel.

Esimene pakk Inglismaalt saabus juba üle nädala tagasi, kuid maale tulemise võimalust kohe ei olnud. Nii panin saabunukese lihtsalt külmkappi. Ega see ju paljuski praegu väljasolevast erinegi. Täna aga olin saabunud pakkidega maal ning asusin istutama. Oma lumikellukesemaa asutasin aeda õunapuude alla. Juba möödunud kevadel olin sinna istutanud mõned hariliku lumikellukese puhmad. Ka uued tulijad leidsid oma koha seal.

Ühte lumikellukest võib pakkida mitmel moel/ Single snowdrop can be packed in many different ways and pack sizes

Nagu jõuluõhtul!/ Exciting like Christmas gift!

Galanthus plicatus 'Wendy's Gold'

Galanthus 'Augustus'

Galanthus 'Spindlestone Surprise'

Kaasareisija/ Co-traveler - earthworm from England!

Tõeline gigant/ Galanthus elwesii 'Pat Mason' is a real gigant!

Lumikellukesemaa/ Snowdrop grassland under the apple trees

Kodused kellukesed/ Galanthus nivalis, planted last spring

Galanthus nivalis 'Flore pleno' is a long companion in our garden

Ja nii ma natuke juba ootan järgmist kevadet, et näha neid kõiki uusi põnevaid õisi, mis võivad ju paista kõik üks lumikelluke aga pärsi siiki ei ole. Aga mitte vähem ei rõõmusta ma oma seniste lumikellukeste üle, kogu praegune varakevad on nende päralt!


Summary: Snowdrops from England

It is debatable weather this early spring is good or not, but it gave me a chance!
Specialist snowdrops in England are usually sold in green, when they are in bloom. It wouldn't be a much of a problem if you lived in England. But if you happen to live about thousand miles away in north, where spring arrives in April, it could be a bit of a problem! Usually there is nothing to do with blooming snowdrops in February or March in Estonia, where these months are more of a winter heart. Land is deeply frozen and thick snow is covering everything. Well not this year, spring is very early!

I had admired different snowdrop cultivars on the internet for a while, but they always seemed so ridiculously expensive and rarely available. And then this thing with 'time difference' or more 'season difference'. Also, what I thought that E-bay is for certain people and only very rare and expensive snowdrops are sold over there. Well, this isn't the case at all, you can buy or bid on an auction for a snowdrop with very reasonable price. So I got myself together and made my bids and was lucky enough to win some desired plants.

As the packs arrived earlier this week, today I was able to plant them down. I started snowdrops area in my garden under the apple trees, which should be good place for them - sunny in spring, shadier during the summer. Soil is rich and moist but not water logged, which is also important. I already had planted some groups of common snowdrop Galanthus nivalis last spring and they are looking really good and happy now. Hope that the newly arrivals will do so.

In one of the packs there was a little traveler who had come along, an earthworm. If a live animal survived all this travel then I hope the snowdrops did as well. I only hope that this little English earthworm won't turn to some gigantic mutant in Estonian soil!