Tiny but perfectly formed, dainty and shy. With their heads bowed and eyes lowered snowdrops are the epitome of elegance and decorum in the flowering bulb world.

There is everything from swathes of snowdrops to tiny pockets. They grow in profusion under the protection of woodland, take shelter behind stones and fallen branches and peep through moss and grasses.

Each and every one is a welcome sight in Swaledale. They are the very first sign of life in winter. They signal that spring will come and with it bring other tiny miracles such as aconites and wood anenomes. However, as their name implies, it would be foolish to forget that its winter and ‘snow’ could still ‘drop’ from the skies for another few weeks!