On a walk with garden staff members today we spotted the first snowdrop (or the last, depending on how you define it). This snowdrop variety, Galanthus ‘Potter’s Prelude’, is the earliest of the minor bulbs to flower in the Winterthur garden.

It seems as though spring has just started and already we are seeing signs of seed-ripening on our earliest bulbs; snowdrops, winter aconite and glory-of-the-snow.  When the green seed pods begin to turn yellow, this is a signal to begin collecting the pods. Let them air dry and split open. Then cast the seed where you want to increase your display of bulbs.  Gathering the seed of winter aconite is fairly easy as the plant holds its seeds above the foliage. Snowdrops and glory-of-the-snow have heavier seed that tends to fall to the ground, making it a challenge for gardeners who have to sift through foliage to try and find the ripening seed. The yellowing of visible winter aconite seed pods is your cue that there are also pods ripening under the cover of leaves.  None of us needs to add anything new to our “to-do” list at this time of year, but spending a few minutes collecting and dispersing seed now is a quick, easy, and FREE way to increase the quantity of a plant. Your efforts will reveal themselves next spring as the young leaves of seedlings emerge to be followed by flowers in 2 or 3 years. At Winterthur we do not fuss about this process; we simply collect the seed, allow the pods to split then cast the seed by hand—a pretty easy process that yields a great reward in years to come.