Galanthus nivalis 'Alan's Treat'

Galanthus nivalis 'Alan's Treat' is a really elegant and beautiful poculiform snowdrop.  The inner segments are almost as long as the outers, so the flower has that lovely slender, cup-like look, and each segment carries a soft green mark towards the tip, which fades away as it moves up the outer petal.

It was originally found in the legendary 'Angelique Wood' in Normandy, France, but I believe the site has since been devastatingly destroyed for housing.  As well as 'Alan's Treat', another beautiful snowdrop, 'Angelique', was also found there, amongst many others.

The name of this plant is a play on Alan Street's own name, and he did name it himself.  As Val Bourne wrote in her beautiful obituary to Alan for the Autumn 2022 HPS Galanthus Group newsletter: "‘Alan’s Treat’ was a play on his own name, although it backfired when the Immortal’s Lunch was held at Avon Bulbs in 2011.  Those who had a snowdrop named after them took part in a group photo, printed in the Telegraph.  Ruby Baker, Carolyn Elwes, Yvonne Hay, Ronald Mackenzie, Veronica Cross and David Bromley took their places.  Alan was not allowed to join the photograph and was reduced to hovering about in the background clutching his snowdrop, although I did suggest he moved the apostrophe around a bit."

Janet Benjafield, who also knew Alan very well, adds another part to the story: Alan gave away the first two flowering bulbs, which was a further reason for the name.

The leaves of 'Alan's Treat' are upright and grey-green.  Here in the North West it usually flowers in February.

Sources
Some of the background here comes from Mark Brown's lecture on French snowdrops (HPS Galanthus Group AGM and Study Day, Tuxford, Nottinghamshire, February 2020); Val Bourne's obituary of Alan Street (HPS Galanthus Group newsletter, Autumn 2022); Janet Benjafield's talk, 'To Blewbury and Beyond' (HPS Galanthus Group, by Zoom, October 2023); Freda Cox, A Gardener's Guide to Snowdrops.