Pure pleasure

IT’S that time of year again - snow-drops are emerging from their dormancy to create white carpets in many public spaces and gardens.

- BY HANNAH STEPHENSON

They flower any time between January and early March, their white petals and green leaves brightening the winter months and signalling that warmer days are on their way.

So, enjoy the white swathes of these pint-sized flowers as they bring gardens to life.

Here are just a few of the gardens where you'll see them at their best.

Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

Some of the snowdrops will emerge early, clustered under the boughs of the yew and lime trees in the east and west corners of the South Court. The Winter Border and Stumpery fringing the Elizabethan house will be awash with snowdrops, winter aconites and hellebores which help bring the gardens to life.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, North Yorkshire

The spectacular drifts of snowdrops at this World Heritage Site are a legacy of Earl de Grey, who planted the flowers along the banks of the River Skell when he owned the estate during the 19th century.

Oxburgh Estate, Norfolk

Beyond the imposing 15th-century brick manor house you can see thousands of snowdrops and winter aconites each year in the Wilderness, My Lady's Wood and on the North Terrace, in this garden, which is a mixture of formal and wilderness. The plants are allowed to self-seed, creating a beautiful, natural scene.