How a Small Winter Flower Has Attracted Droves of Admirer...

What’s Happening

Okay so The snowdrop, or Galanthus, blooms when the world is still frozen.

Gardeners enamored with the plant gather each year in Pennsylvania to celebrate its subtleties and endurance How a Small Winter Flower Has Attracted Droves of Admirers—and Offers a Symbol of Resilience The snowdrop, or Galanthus, blooms when the world is still frozen. Snowdrops can push through snow and icy ground to bloom in winter, bringing their blossoms to the largely dormant landscape. (let that sink in)

Andrew Hart On a late February morning, as patches of lingering snow melt under the winter sun, a 220-year-old Quaker meetinghouse in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, fills with revelers who’ve traveled from all over the United States and abroad to celebrate a tiny flower.

The Details

People grasp hands and hug like they’re at a family reunion. Many wear hats, sweaters, scarves or earrings adorned with the likeness of little white blossoms bowing toward the earth.

Steps away, in an old schoolhouse , an artistic display of the plants decorates a table in the center of the room, like a miniature forest. Some blooms have opened fully, showing inner petals scalloped like lace and outer petals that look like rabbit ears or the blades of a toy helicopter, just inches above the ground.

Why This Matters

The flower is the snowdrop, and this is the Galanthus Gala , an annual gathering of its ardent admirers. Vendors sell potted snowdrop cultivars with quirky names—Heffalump, Walrus, Narwhal—each featuring subtle variations in colors, markings or size. David Culp , the founder of the gala— Galanthus is the botanical name for snowdrops—says it’s the only plant that, if you have a cultivar named after you, you are called an “ immortal ,” a nod to snowdrop culture’s tradition of honoring the people who are part of its history .

This could have implications for future research in this area.

Key Takeaways

• David Culp, founder of the Galanthus Gala, has been organizing the event since 2017.
• Matthew Ross Culp is a kind-faced man with a gentle voice who is a Galanthus immortal.

The Bottom Line

David Culp, founder of the Galanthus Gala, has been organizing the event since 2017. Matthew Ross Culp is a kind-faced man with a gentle voice who is a Galanthus immortal.

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