Having photographed several contenders for today’s Six on Saturday, the popular meme hosted by Jim of Gardening Ruminations, I then had to do a cull – but suggest you don’t actually count how many have been included in today’s post!
Let’s start with species tulip T hageri ‘Little Beauty’, a petite tulip with a very apt name, reliably reappearing annually and multiplying gently. With their contrasting deep blue centres, these would make a delightful posy in combination with muscari, but next Monday’s vase is already promised to some of their full-size cousins, now beginning to open throughout the garden. Perhaps it will be some of those in this galvanised tank?
For the time being, spring bulbs continue to be the stars of the garden and in the Coop the hippeastrum I showed last week is going to excel itself, with a fifth trumpet beginning to unfurl – not bad for a £3(ish) bulb from Lidl. I particularly like the greenish hints on this unnamed variety.
Even more exciting than this, however, is the sudden appearance (a hop skip and jump moment, if ever there was one) of Fritillaria imperialis, or Crown Imperial fritillary, which I had been tempted to try again after a discussion last year with a fellow NGS Garden opener. Frankly, I had given up on it, assuming I must have forgotten the advice to plant the bulb on its side, so spotting it emerging amidst hellebore foliage was a joyous moment. I am pretty sure I ordered an orange variety so shall be watching its progress avidly to see if I was right; sadly, it has also been spotted by lily beetles and I picked and dealt with FIVE of the pesky red devils this morning…grrrr! I can spot two of them in this photo – can you?
It’s not all about bulbs this week though, as I have also
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