Catching sight of a snowdrop patch means spring is on the way – finally. Blooming from mid-to-late January until late-February, here’s where you can catch sight of these delicate white flowers signalling warmer days ahead in London’s urban jungle.

Did you know...

Snowdrops contain a compound called galanthamine, which is used in modern pharmaceuticals to manage Alzheimer’s disease and is also used to relieve traumatic injuries to the nervous system. Do not eat them, however as they can make you quite poorly Leave the processing of galanthamine to the pharmacologists! Snowdrop enthusiasts are called galanthophiles, and can spend hundreds of pounds on a desirable bulb Snowdrops like to grow in well drained chalk and limestone soils, under the shade of deciduous trees, so you’ll usually find them in woodland, grassland and shrubland. 

Read More: Fab Things To Do In London To Make January Less Miserable

1 Kew Gardens, Richmond

But of course! London’s famous botanical garden is home to almost all of the 20 known varieties of snowdrops. Find most of them in the Natural Area, where Kew meets the River Thames, the Rock Garden (one of the oldest and largest in the world) and the Woodland Garden and Temple of Aeolus (a calming corner with gentle slopes and forest shade). This one’s not free, however, as Kew Garden is ticketed.

Address: Kew, Richmond TW9 3AE

Tickets: From £11/£4 adult/child

Website: kew.org

2 Myddelton House Gardens, Enfield

Myddelton House Gardens, the home of renowned gardener and botanist Edward Augustus Bowles from 1865 to 1954, was salvaged from disrepair with a Heritage Lottery Fund in 2011. Now, it is well known for its snowdrops. To spot them in their full white-carpet glory, head to the Alpine Meadow. Usually, towards the end of January, Myddelton House will host a snowdrop sale with several nurseries selling common and rare varieties of the plant.

Address: Myddelton House Gardens, Enfield EN2 9HG

Cost: Free

Website: visitleevalley.org.uk/myddelton

3 Chelsea Physic Garden

**Gardens currently closed until January 22** Chelsea Physic Garden, London’s oldest botanical garden (and the second oldest in the UK), dates back to the 17th century. Originally founded by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in 1673, it houses around 5,000 different medicinal, herbal, edible and useful plants, as well as the oldest Alpine garden in England. The garden usually hosts a snowdrop trail on reopening from its winter break in late January, and you can also buy more than 50 snowdrop varieties from the shop.

Address: 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea SW3 4HS

Tickets: From £9/£5 adult/child

Website: chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk

4 Morden Hall Park

Winter is a great time to enjoy the open spaces offered by Morden Hall Park for frosty mornings on the wetland boardwalk and brisk walks in the wide open spaces of the South Park. To find early snowdrops in bloom, head for the arboretum at the far end of the rose garden from mid-to-late January. One of the most beautiful aspects of Morden Hall Park is the sheer number of trees – head in any direction to discover magnificent specimen trees and pockets of woodland.

Address: Morden Hall Road, Morden SM4 5JD

Cost: Free

Website: nationaltrust.org.uk/morden-hall-park

5 Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, Mile End

This urban wildflower meadow, which cosies up to the railway line running between the City and Stratford, is an old 19th century cemetery. The only woodland in Tower Hamlets, it’s home to both common varieties and rarer snowdrops. Together with the adjoining areas of Scrapyard Meadow and Ackroyd Drive Greenlink, this Local Nature Reserve is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.

Address: Southern Grove Mile End E3 4PX

Cost: Free

Website: fothcp.org

6 Eltham Palace

Eltham Palace, once a favoured medieval palace, then a Tudor royal residence, and finally transformed by eccentric millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, has 19 acres of award-winning gardens around the striking Art Deco mansion. In the gardens, beyond the top of the moat, you’ll find smatterings of snowdrops as well as cyclamen, yellow aconites, primroses, sky-blue wood anemones and wine-coloured hellebores.

Address: Court Yard, Eltham SE9 5QE

Cost: Free

Website: english-heritage.org.uk/eltham-palace

7 Ham House, Richmond

Ham House, known for its lavish interiors and fine furniture, is just as pretty on the outside. The 17th-century house, the creation of the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale, sits on the banks of the river Thames in Richmond and is one of the grandest Stuart houses in England. Snowdrops can be found under the very old Acacia trees. Seek out the hellebores and winter aconites too, and while you’re there, explore the maze-like wilderness with 16 garden compartments and head over to the kitchen garden to see which herbs are around at this time of year.

Address: Ham Street, Ham, Richmond TW10 7RS

Cost: Free

Website: nationaltrust.org.uk/ham-house

8 Oxleas Wood, Eltham

Oxleas Wood, one of the few remaining areas of ancient deciduous forest in south east London, dates back over 8,000 years to the end of the last Ice Age in some parts. It’s part of a larger continuous area of wood and parkland on the south side of Shooter’s Hill including Jack Wood, Castle Wood, Oxleas Meadows, Falconwood Field, Eltham Common and Eltham Park North, and is also home to the impressive Severndroog Castle. Keen snowdrop spotters might enjoy a seven mile walk from following the Green Chain Walk from Falconwood to Abbey Wood, via the ruins of Lesnes Abbey.

Address: Off Shooters Hill, Eltham SE18 4LX

Cost: Free

Website: oxleaswoodlands.uk