Muscari

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:45:17 GMT

Muscari are plants which people love to hate! I suppose it's because they spread rapidly, and can take over if you're not careful. However, I love them, and have lots of different varieties in the garden. The one pictured is the first to flower usually, and is the common Muscari armeniacum. I've said before that I love blue plants, so I've got little groups of these all around the garden.

Chionodoxa forbesii

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:43:51 GMT

I'm very fond of blue flowers, and another spring flowering bulb which I love to grow is Chionodoxa forbesii. This has spikes of lovely star shaped blue flowers with white centres. They don't mind sun or part-shade - mine grow and flower equally as well in both situations - but they will not flower well in full shade. They spread slowly but...

Daffodils

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:41:34 GMT

Hymenocallis festalis

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:13:02 GMT

I planted some bulbs of Hymenocallis festalis (also known as Ismene festalis) a while back, and they have grown very strongly, with lovely green strap-shaped leaves. The flowers are borne in groups on the end of long stems, and are rather reminiscent of a white daffodil, except that the petals are elongated like a spider! The trumpet has a delicately frilled edge, whilst the centre of the trumpet is lime green - lovely!
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Allium "Purple Sensation"

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:57:19 GMT

Allium "Purple Sensation" is a wonderful plant. It grows practically anywhere, and flowers as well in shade as it does in sun. I have several clumps of this around the garden, and they look wonderful growing up between other plants. The seed heads are lovely too, and very useful to use in flower arrangements, either fresh, when they are green, or fully dried, when they are...

Leucojum vernum

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 06 Jul 1952 20:04:55 GMT

A pretty litle bulb which flowers at this time of the year is Leucojum vernum, the Spring Snowflake. It is quite low growing, and has green strap-shaped leaves. The small white bell-shaped flowers have lovely green blotches on the tips of each petal, like a little dab of green paint! I also have Leucojum aestivum, the Summer Snowflake, but this is much taller, and flowers later on in...

Oxalis deppei 'Iron Cross'

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:51:10 GMT

The splendid little Oxalis deppei 'Iron Cross' is still putting on a show as late as November, with its bright green foliage splashed in the centre with maroon. This little tender plant grows from small corms, and has salmon pink flowers in summer and autumn. It will survive a small amount of frost, but not lower than about minus 5 degrees. I kept mine in a pot in the...

Colchicum autumnale

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:44:18 GMT

The autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale, is in full flower now, making a welcome splash of colour at the front of the border. The flowers appear from the bare earth, and last a week or so, then die down again to nothing. Later on, strap-like fleshy green leaves appear, which can be very untidy, so I grow the plant behind a metal support which helps to keep the leaves from flopping over the lawn and killing the grass!

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Dahlias

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:02:31 GMT

There's such a variety of shapes, sizes and colours that there's sure to be one to suit all tastes. They went out of fashion for some time and now they seem to be enjoying a comeback. The two pictured below are ones which I had last year, and have flowered for the first time this year. The first is a wonderful variety called 'Floorinoor'. It has a mixture of pink,...

Eucomis

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:53:42 GMT

Eucomis species are some of my favourite summer and autumn flowering bulbs. They have such unusual flowers, consisting of many waxy bell-shaped flowers clustered on each stem, each one being finished off with a top-knot of leaves, hence its common name of Pineapple Flower. Probably the most commonly available one is Eucomis bicolour, and the flowers and leaves can vary from one bulb to...

Dahlia imperialis.

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:51:56 GMT

I'm a real fan of GIANT PLANTS, and this is one of them! It's the so-called tree Dahlia, Dahlia imperialis. If grown outdoors, it needs to be treated just the same as ordinary Dahlias, the tubers being lifted and stored in a cold dry frost-free place for the winter, and started off again in spring. The huge stems on a mature plant can be two or more inches wide, and can soar up...

Lilium nepalense

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:36:03 GMT

Sometimes, you see a plant and you just have to buy it! This is what happened to me when I saw this lily, called Lilium nepalense, I fell in love with its beautiful pendent lime-green buds which open out to reflexed petals of pale chartreuse green with a wonderful maroon centre. This is a true species lily (rather than a hybrid), the only downside being that it isn't very hardy, so I will need to protect it in the winter -...

Amaryllis 'Papillio'

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:59:52 GMT

In the conservatory, my Amaryllis 'Papillio' is in flower. This is a spectacular bulb which is also often known as Hippeastrum. They usually (but not always) flower before the leaves emerge, throwing up tall stout stems with several buds in a ring on the top. This variety is one I bought last autumn, so I haven't seen it in flower until now. It certainly is a beauty with...

Leucojum aestivum

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:53:45 GMT

A lovely spring-flowering bulb is the so-called Summer Snowflake, Leucojum aestivum. Why this is called the summer snowflake when it flowers in spring is a mystery to me! It grows quite tall, around 2 feet when in flower, and spreads slowly to form clumps. It's very easy to grow, and doesn't seem to mind what soil or aspect it's growing in.

Erythronium 'Pagoda'

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:52:16 GMT

Erythronium 'Pagoda' is a shade lover. This yellow-flowered form of the Dogs-tooth Violet grows from tubers, and forms lush clumps of often marbled foliage in late March or early April, then the flowers emerge to give a wonderful display. The plant disappears underground again from late summer though, so if you grow this, be sure to mark its place so that you don't put the spade through it!

Iris unguicularis

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:41:42 GMT

A lovely plant in flower in March is Iris unguicularis. This used to be known as Iris stylosa, but that was too easy, so the boffins decided to call it Iris unguicularis, just to confuse us mere mortals!! It is an evergreen low growing Iris with narrow leathery strap-shaped leaves. It grows to around 1 foot tall, and enjoys full sun. The flowers always come as a surprise to me, as it...

Dutch Iris

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:42:54 GMT

Mara
Unregistered User
(1/30/02 9:29:52 pm)

Freesia

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:06:18 GMT

trevor211
Registered User
Posts: 43
(4/21/02 8:57:27 pm)...

Cannas

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:47:43 GMT

kiwijan
Registered User
Posts: 7

Begonias

feeds@yuku.com (Pip at Home) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:35:43 GMT

Begonias. MacCuckoo. 26/11/01.

This subject has come up before but I must confess to having a bad memory. I went out to do some tidying up in the garden this morning and discovered I had overlooked a tub of begonias. What do I do to overwinter them...

Bulbs, Corms, Tubers & Rhizomes