diminished is beautiful , and nowhere more so than in the realm of those most dear of works , thebulbs .
We adore the crocus , wood anemone , and miniature Narcissus that illuminate up the darkest months of the yr , and the nursery trade fuels our passion for these plants by pass around them by the million . But while they may be cheap and cheerful , their evergreen popularity doubtlessly casts a shadower over rafts of other mintage that are equally worthy of care .
To make the case for these ignore treasure , get ’s go on a lightning tour from South Africa to the easterly Mediterranean to encounter three less familiar bloom bulbs which in color and form , could not be more unlike from one another . What they have in mutual is a tough and uncomplaining constitution . All three are well grown using honorable quality , well - drainedcompostand all thrive in a coolheaded bright greenhouse or unheated conservatory .
Cape Hyacinths (lachenalia bulbifera)
start up our journey in South Africa – the domicile of many fabulous plants – we ascertain the genusLachenalia , or the Cape Hyacinths . These lovely bulb are often find in specialist collections but only a few have charmed their way into the heart of gardeners in general – a with child shame as one of them in peculiar has the potential to drum out those ubiquitous miniature daffodils from the temperate windowsill .
This isLachenalia bulbifera , a firecracker of a plant that produce one or two plain or attractively spotted leaves resonant of hyacinth and in the distinctive human body , a spike of long - lasting , incandescent reddened flower between 10 and 20 centimeter high . Each stem carries twenty or more of these waxy , pendulous blooms , which pop out appearing as too soon as late December , and each efflorescence is tip with splashes of green and set up off to beau ideal with a dash of golden pollen borne on the stick out stamen .
belie its exotic appearance , Lachenalia bulbiferaresents high temperatures and my industrial plant on a regular basis handle brief air frost on an outside windowsill , though it is best not to expose them to sub zero conditions . stash away the chubby pale bulbs dry throughout summer and pot them up again in September in the Northern Hemisphere .
Autumn Snowflake (acis autumnalis)
Heading north to the Iberian peninsula , we are on track for a late summer rendezvous with a little gem named Acis autumnalis . Sometimes called the Autumn snowflake , this belongs to a sept related to the snowdrops ( Galanthus ) , and blooms out of the blue when most other flower bulbs are either dormant or barely wake up up . In the case of Acis , this welcome transformation involve a sudden and striking burst of dainty nodding Alexander Graham Bell of the most pristine crystalline clean , sometimes tinged with a faint pinkish blush and poised on a woodland of wiry stems .
Depending on the exact variant , the Autumn Plectrophenax nivalis sometimes flower before the grassy leaf emerges and if grown in a gravid enough pot , the bulbs can be leftin situfor several years where they will merrily multiply .
Romulea
Our tour end on the hillside of western Turkey and Cyprus with the nanus of the trio , a stunning petty springtime flower calledRomulea tempskyana . TheRomuleasare related to the crocus but , in prime , they are distinct enough to be plain .
Romulea tempskyanais a true miniature , but its extrovert flowers are veritable attention seekers . The silky , reflexed flower petal beam with the most vibrant and unexpected tint of violet and are perfectly complement by the sunny yellow of the prominent stamens . A unmarried flower is gorgeous , a group of them in a tummy is unforgettable , and as each corm puts out a succession of blooms , you could enjoy their display for several week .
Do n’t be arse around by their sizing , because these flowers are well able to take precaution of themselves by closing up tightly at night and during wet conditions , nor are they prone to cave in in a sloughy heap when spend , as are the crocuses .
If you have never develop anything other than the clip - honored front-runner , this three with a remainder is the double-dyed founding to a variety of more strange miniatures . And , maybe , you will decide it ’s time for the likes ofNarcissus“Tete - a - Tete ” to move over and make a little elbow room for them .
