Galanthus x valentinei 'Midas'

Galanthus x valentinei ‘Midas’ is a wonderful and very special ‘colour-changer’ snowdrop. Discovered by and named by the late Alan Street in the woods at Avon Bulbs in 2011, ‘Midas’ is very vigorous and very beautiful.  Quite similar in appearance to ‘Bitter Lemons’ (which was found close by some years later), although both plants flower at different times – ‘Bitter Lemons’ flowers mid to late January here and ‘Midas’ around mid-February.  Both plants are thought to be a naturally occurring cross between G. plicatus ‘Trym’ and G. nivalis ‘Blonde Inge’.  The plants are certainly not identical.  I find ‘Bitter Lemons’ is taller and has a darker green ovary, giving a greater contrast between the bright yellow outer and inner markings.  For this reason, if I’m completely honest, and I had to choose one of the two, it would be a close call, but my choice would be ‘Bitter Lemons’. That being said, I’m certainly not looking to undersell ‘Midas’ – without question, I wouldn’t, under any circumstances, want to be without it in my collection - it’s just a wonderful plant and really should grow in everyone’s garden. It’s just another (of the many) stunning introductions from Alan Street.