Galanthus ‘Hippolyta’

One of the celebrated Greatorex doubles, ‘Hippolyta’ is a beautifully neat, rounded snowdrop with broad, grey-green, pleated foliage and double white flowers packed with green-marked inner segments. The outer tepals remain relatively broad and clean, while the crowded centre carries the characteristic green markings towards the tips. It is an unusually elegant double rather than a floral football—which is perhaps just as well.

Origin: Raised by Heyrick Greatorex in Norfolk in the 1940s, ‘Hippolyta’ was one of his series of double hybrid snowdrops produced by crossing Galanthus nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’ with G. plicatus. Greatorex named his doubles after female characters from Shakespeare; Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

In the garden: A vigorous, reliable clumper and one of the finest of the Greatorex doubles. The flowers are held clearly above the broad foliage and are particularly effective when planted in groups beneath deciduous trees or shrubs. RHS Award of Garden Merit. 

Height: 15–20cm
Spread: 15–25cm
Flowering: January–March
Hardiness: H5 (−15 to −10°C)
Aspect: Sun or partial shade
Soil: Moist, humus-rich, well drained