Leucojum Gravetye Giant - Summer Snowflake - ORG

It’s called the summer snowflake, but it actually flowers in May. That doesn’t quite match the name, but the rest is all the more fitting: large, graceful white bell-shaped flowers that hang gently from sturdy stems, sometimes as long as ninety centimetres. And then there’s the scent. If you get close, you can smell chocolate. It remains a surprising experience, time and time again.

A plant with a story

The ‘Gravetye Giant’ cultivar is named after Gravetye Manor in Sussex, England — the estate of the influential garden writer William Robinson, who lived there from 1884 until his death in 1935. Robinson was one of the pioneers of the naturalistic garden style: wild, flowing, inspired by nature. The Leucojum fits perfectly into that philosophy. It grows naturally in reed beds and wet meadows, thrives in damp soil and looks stunning on the banks of a pond or under trees.

Planting and naturalising

Plant the bulbs in autumn at a depth of around 10–12 cm in a moist, preferably slightly shaded spot. They thrive in heavy clay soil and along the water’s edge — places where other bulbs give up. Once planted, Leucojum Gravetye Giant propagates naturally via bulbils and seed. After a few years, you’ll have an impressive clump that puts on a fragrant display every May. Organically grown, certified NL-BIO-01.