‘The snowdrop, in purest white arraie,
First rears her hedde on Candlemas daie.
While the Crocus hastens to the shrine
Of Primrose lone on St Valentine.’
~Dr. Thomas Forster
from the Perennial Calendar and Companion to the Almanac (1824)
Carpets of snowdrops (Galanthus) spring up overnight to herald the coming arrival of spring. Snowdrops thrive in graveyards which, along with their shroud-like appearance help perpetuate their long association with death. However, this birth flower of January is also a symbol of hope & consolation and the green markings on its inner petals are said to be the promise that summer will return.
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