A cascade of early flowering snowdrops are amazing visitors to a garden in Yelverton – months before they would usually be expected.

A white carpet of the delightful flowers are usually welcomed at The Garden House as the first sign of long-awaited spring.

However, visitors are currently being treated to the rare sighting of snowdrops flowering in the garden in October.

The long dry summer is thought to be behind this unexpected early snow ‘drift’.

Garden House head gardener Nick Haworth said the varieties currently in bloom in the garden were from hot southern European countries where autumn flowering of snowdrops is not unusual.

However, the sheer number is unusual for an English garden.

Nick said: “We’ve got around 400 varieties of snowdrops at The Garden House and while it’s not unusual to see the odd Mediterranean snowdrop popping its head up in autumn, we’ve never seen so many in October.

“It’s pretty clear the reason is the long dry summer followed by autumn rainfall. This is close to the conditions these snowdrop varieties experience in their natural habitats.”

He said The Garden House had an unusually diverse snowdrop collection. Most are in bloom from early January to mid-March when thousands of people visit the garden to admire them.

The garden’s 2026 Snowdrop Festival (which includes later blooming species) opens to visitors on January 9 and will continue until the season ends – usually ten to 12 weeks later.

The Garden House was created by Lionel and Katharine Fortescue in the 1940s.

They transformed the grounds of the former vicarage, with buildings dating back to 1305, into one of Britain’s best-loved gardens, which is now run as a charitable trust and attracts thousands of visitors a year.

The Snowdrop Festival starts in early January and runs to mid-March.