From winter days with snow and cold to the first signs of spring in no time. How is this possible? Five hundred meters in altitude explain it. This is the height difference between the Blauen Crest Trail and the Botanical Garden of the University of Basel. The latter is where I captured the clump of garden snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) yesterday.
All species of Galanthus have bulbs, linear leaves, and erect flower stalks without leaves. At their top they bear a solitary pendulous bell-shaped white flower. Galanthus nivalis grows 15 cm tall.
The benefit of planting garden snowdrops is their early arrival. They can show up weeks before crocuses do, and will often poke through a covering of snow.