'Perfect' snowdrop sells for record £357

A snowdrop commemorating one of Britain's best-known gardeners has fetched a record-breaking £357 at auction. Galanthus plicatus "E A Bowles" boasts six pure white petals which are precisely equal in length.

The variety was first spotted at Bowles's former home, Myddleton House gardens, in Bulls Cross, Enfield, north London, and the bulb was grown by John Grimshaw, head gardener at Colesbourne Park, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The profit will go towards the restoration of the Myddleton House gardens after a Lottery grant of £500,000 in 2009.