Galanthus 'Mrs. Thompson'

Galanthus 'Mrs. Thompson' - This is a very interesting plant. I never used to give this plant much love to be completely honest, and have actually told people in the past that I thought it was ugly! However, I actually gave it a lot more attention last season and have come to very much admire its unusual characteristics. It is a large plant that looks fantastic in a clump.

'Mrs. Thompson' is a rebel and will do what she pleases year on year! Every year the flowers can show different characteristics. She may have 3 outers or inners - four, five or even six! She may have two, or even three, flowers fused together on the same scape or multiple other anomalies. She might have mangled and deformed outers or inners, different numbers of outers or inners or, she may actually, sometimes, just look like a 'normal' snowdrop, with three inners and three outers! All of these things can happen within the same clump in the same year; a very interesting plant indeed.

Not all snowdrops are perfect in every way, and I think 'Mrs. Thompson' is one that can certainly be loved for its 'stable' instability, if that makes sense!

You might not believe it but all of the photographs attached to this listing are of the same plant. I will continue to add photos to this listing as the years go by to add the different variations of her flowers.

To give some history, 'Mrs. Thompson' is a very old cultivar; found by Mrs. N.G. Thompson of Red House, Escrick, near York, and named for herself. She sent it to the RHS committee, chaired by E.A. Bowles, for consideration in 1950. The monograph records that the committee saw her habit of carrying several flowers on one stem as a throwback to the many-flowered Leucojum, and that it has also been grown under the name 'Yorkshire Cottage'. It is a clone that has certainly stood the test of time as a garden plant. Love it or hate it, it's a good doer, and will perform very well in the garden and increase quickly due to its excellent vigour.

Sources
Some of the background here comes from Freda Cox, A Gardener's Guide to Snowdrops; and Bishop, Davis & Grimshaw, Snowdrops: A Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus.