GARDENS in the Scottish Borders are getting set to welcome their first visitors of the year as part of the annual Scottish Snowdrop Festival, organised by Discover Scottish Gardens.

From Wednesday, February 1 until Saturday, March 11, the Festival will offer many opportunities to wrap up warm, get outside and enjoy the spectacle of thousands of winter’s most iconic blooms carpeting the ground.

With guided walks and expert talks, some of the gardens will be offering visitors new ways to see and understand snowdrops, but there will also be the chance to just get lost in the simple beauty of these early flowers.

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Dougal Phillip, Director, Discover Scottish Gardens, says: “Scotland has the perfect climate for snowdrops and the season begins in the mild south west then ripples northwards as February and March progress until the whole country is covered in these beautiful blooms. Thanks to the Scottish Snowdrop Festival, more people than ever are now visiting gardens to enjoy the spectacle.

“It’s a great opportunity to immerse yourself in nature at a time of year when the days are just starting to lengthen.”

Money raised by ticket sales at many of the gardens will be distributed to charities through Scotland's Gardens Scheme.

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Gardens in the Borders which are opening for the Festival include:

Floors Castle, Kelso

From Friday 24 until Sunday 26 February, between 10.30am and 4pm the magnificent grounds of Floors Castle will be open for visitors who want to enjoy the spectacle of the estate woodlands carpeted in drifts of snowdrops.

Craig, Langholm

For more than 40 years, new plantings have extended the snowdrop display at Craig until now a large variety covers the ground. Amongst them are drifts of the Winter Snowflake (Leucojum vernum) and the snowdrops have also spread along the riverbank to create a Snowdrop Walk. Craig will be open on Sunday, 19 February from 12 noon until 4pm

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Kailzie Gardens, Peebles

Set on the banks of the River Tweed, Kailzie has a walled garden heritage glasshouses and 15 acres of stunning woodlands, which in March are covered in snowdrops. The garden will be open on Sunday, 5 March from 10am until 4pm.

Kirkton Manor House, Peebles

This three acre garden enjoys spectacular views over the beautiful Manor Valley and its terraced slopes contain thousands of snowdrops. These can be enjoyed on open days on Wednesday 15 and 22 February and also on Wednesday 1, 8 and 15 March for winter walks.

Dawyck Botanic Garden, Stobo

This outstation of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is filled with trees and shrubs from some of the world’s high altitude locations and beneath them grow thousands of snowdrops. Visitors will be able to join staff members for snowdrop walks on every Sunday in February, from 3pm until 4pm.

For full details of all openings please visit www.discoverscottishgardens.org.