Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Gardening enthusiasts look forward to Scottish Snowdrop Festival

Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye will be open to the public for two weekends in February for the Scottish Snowdrop Festival.
Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye will be open to the public for two weekends in February for the Scottish Snowdrop Festival.

The Scottish Snowdrop Festival returns for 2022 in some of the best gardens across Moray, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Visitors are invited to enjoy the blooms and special collections of snowdrops in beautiful gardens across the region from January 25 to March 11.

The festival is organised by Discover Scottish Gardens, whose members open their gardens for charity.

Among those taking part this year include Attadale Gardens in Strathcarron, which will be open to the public every Thursday in February.

Dunvegan Castle on Skye will be hosting out-of-season openings on February 12 and 17 to exhibit the many snowdrops growing on its grounds.

For the galanthophiles (snowdrop-enthusiasts), 10 Pilmur Road in Forres has 150 named varieties planted at this plot to be appreciated and enjoyed. It will be open by arrangement throughout the festival.

A collection of rare snowdrops will be able to be viewed at Bruckhills Croft in Rothienorman.

Bruckhills Croft in Rothienorman also boasts some rare snowdrops. The owners have cultivated a National Collection of specialist snowdrops whilst visitors at Laundry Cottage near Gartly can enjoy the sight of a country-style garden filled with the mid-winter bloom by the River Bogie.

Similar to 10 Pilmur Road, these locations are open by arrangement. Details on how to access them can be found here.

‘A much-cherished celebration’

Liz Stewart, director of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme, said: “Our members range from large estates to small private gardens so the festival offers the chance to be wowed by snowdrops growing in large numbers or enchanted by close-ups of the blooms in intimate settings.”

It is part of the Discover Scottish Garden’s aim to put Scottish gardens and nurseries on the tourist map and to showcase the horticulture and plant diversity across the country.

Dougal Philip, director of Discover Scottish Gardens said: “From very humble beginnings this festival has grown to become a much-cherished celebration of the beauty of our gardens at that moment when winter starts to give way to spring.

“It’s a chance to get outdoors, take some exercise and appreciate the beauty that nature brings our way.”

The full list of participating gardens is available at Visit Scotland. For more information on the festival, visit Discover Scottish Gardens.