The nights are drawing in and the leaves are turning as our thoughts turn to spring bulbs, and snowdrops. In my garden, the oak trees have shed hundreds of acorns, a veritable feast for squirrels. It’s been a “
We’ve been enormously thankful to the volunteers who’ve helped us to plant bulbs across Shepton Mallet in the last few weeks. We’ve planted well in excess of 500,000 now and we add to them each year in our bid to carpet the town white with snowdrops each January and February. They’re such a wonderful harbinger of spring and a great antidote to the dark nights and short days of winter.
To all of our volunteers, and to those lovely people who bought snowdrops from us to plant in their own gardens, thank you.
The Shepton Snowdrops Festival team has been working hard over the summer to bring together another packed and varied programme for next year. It’s an exciting time for us. We’re always striving to add something new to keep the interest of our supporters and visitors alive. This is our creative time when we explore new ideas and additions.
2026 is our tenth year and we’re incredibly grateful to our Patron, Dan Pearson, and his partner, Huw Morgan, who will be ‘in conversation’ with another great garden designer, Tania Compton, about their journey to create a beautiful natural garden which melds with the landscape around the old farm at Hillside near Bath. You can read Dan’s gardening notes and Huw’s photographs capture the evolution of the garden in Dig and Delve, their free online magazine. It’s a lovely read.
After the success of BBC Radio 4 Gardeners Question Time last year we’ve drawn together our own Master Panel of gardening experts to answer questions and give tips about kick-starting your spring garden. It’s an impressive line-up; we’re delighted to welcome Arthur Cole from The Newt; James Cross from the Bishops Palace, Wells; Claire Greenslade, former Head Gardener at Hestercombe; and Mike Burke, who heads up the Castle Gardens, Sherborne.
Alongside these new headline events, you’ll still be able to enjoy the core activities that are such a central part of the Festival – specialist plant and bulb nurseries, an artisan market, workshops, talks, walks and activities for children and families.
For the first time, we’ve teamed up with Somerset’s most iconic snowdrop gardens to create the Great Snowdrop Gardens Trail of Somerset. Yeo Valley has been a constant supporter, opening especially for the two days of the Festival; now they’re joined by East Lambrook Manor, Hestercombe, Forde Abbey, Dunster Castle and Snowdrop Valley at Wheddon Cross. James Cross, Head Gardener at the Bishop’s Palace and I will do a winter walk and talk again which has proved so popular in the last two years. If you want to immerse yourself in the spectacle of snowdrops, these are the places to visit.
Keep an eye on the website and / or social media for the detailed programme so you can plan your visit and for announcements about tickets going on sale; last year Charles Dowding and Gardener’s Question Time sold out in a matter of hours and we think the ‘in conversation’ with Dan Pearson and the Master Panel will do the same.
In the meantime, happy gardening!
Amanda and the Snowdrop team