The weather has been so raw in the first half of February that most of my single snowdrops have remained tightly shut and that’s very frustrating indeed. Luckily there have been exceptions. ‘Magnet’ (an available variety selected at the turn of the century) opens widely and sways on a long wiry stem – technically known as a pedicel.

It almost seems to quiver with excitement. ‘Colossus’ (a large, early plicate snowdrop from Colesbourne Park in Gloucestershire) also opens wide whatever the weather. Normally 'Colossus' would be over by mid-January but it’s still in full flower thanks to the cold weather.

The trouble is you can’t see the markings on the inside when it’s so cold – so they really all do look the same.

There were no such problems at the February RHS show held at Vincent Square. In the warm, well-lit hall the snowdrops shone and, raised up to waist height, it was possible to see every mark. The February show runs for two days every year usually on the middle Tuesday and Wednesday and it’s a real horticultural event.

The halls are very close to Victoria railway station and it’s a simple matter to get a coach from Oxford.

If you haven’t been and you are able to, make a promise to yourself for next year. RHS members get in free. You will also find a host of other spring treasures including hellebores, hepaticas, cyclamen and spring-flowering bulbs.

Looking at the hundred or so different snowdrops on display is a very pleasurable affair but it led me on to thinking about the virtues of doubles versus singles.

Double snowdrops are packed with petals on the inside and their flowers open like crinolines whatever the weather.

This gives them a greater presence in the garden in dull winters. Good and available doubles include those bred by Greatorex in the mid-20th century.

He spread pollen around between plants and selected the seedlings to produce an assortment of robust, tall doubles with dark-green markings. Most have Shakespearian or classical names like ‘Ophelia’, ‘Titania’, ‘Hyperion’ and ‘Jacquenetta’. They bulk up well and, when you upend them, the inner skirt is neat. You can also buy them relatively cheaply from Avon Bulbs – one of the best suppliers. (www.avonbulbs.com / 01460 242177) When beginning, start with some inexpensive Galanthus nivalis. This is the common snowdrop found in churchyards, woodland and close to monasteries.

This diminutive snowdrop (which comes in single and the double ‘Flore Pleno’) used to be thought of as a native, but botanists now consider it an introduction. They may have been introduced for medicinal reasons.

Homer mentions a mysterious cure-all bulb which he calls moly, and snowdrop bulbs do contain a medicinal substance called galanthamine used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

The word snowdrop is a recent name: It didn’t appear in print until 1633 and it is thought to be a corruption of ‘Schneetropfen’ the German word used to describe the pearl earrings that were so fashionable in the 17th century. Vermeer’s Girl With the Pearl Earring depicts the elegant dewdrop pearls in fashion then.