Galanthus reginae-olgae ‘Rachelae'

 An historic autumn-flowering snowdrop with an exceptional pedigree. The original plant was collected by John Pentland Mahaffy on Mount Hymettus, Greece, in 1884 and subsequently named Galanthus rachelae by Frederick Burbidge, in honour of Mahaffy’s daughter Rachel. Distributed from the Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin, it reached E. A. Bowles, who cultivated the plant at Myddelton House and recorded it in his writings. Bowles also painted G. rachelae, providing a valuable early horticultural record of this distinctive Greek snowdrop. Today G. rachelae is treated as a synonym of G. reginae-olgae subsp. reginae-olgae, although the historic name ‘Rachelae’ remains in cultivation.

• Hardy: H5 (-15 to -10°C)
• Height: 10–15cm; spread: 10–15cm
• Flowers: September–November