Nigel Colborn - Plant Solutions

Soil preference:Free-draining

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Spring

Height and spread:45cm × 20cm (1ft 6in × 10in)

Companion plants:Useful as a ‘filler’ plant in dry Mediterranean style plantings among other bulbs such as Hermodactyla tuberosa , drought tolerant anemones and such species tulips as Tulipa batalinii .

Iris (Dutch hybrids)

Dutch Iris Bulb

Largely grown for the cut flower trade, but useful for dotting or bedding, these irises produce rigid, jointed stems, furnished with narrow, folded leaves and showy three-part flowers. The most widely grown are blue, as in the ‘Blue Magic’, but there are white forms such as ‘Madonna’. ‘Telstar’ has flowers in purplish blue.

Soil preference:Fertile, free-draining, not too dry

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Spring

Height and spread:Up to 45cm × 20cm (1ft 6in × 8in)

Companion plants:Can be bedded with wallflowers, or to cool down displays of midseason or late daffodils. Also handy to line out with tulips for cutting.

Dwarf bulbs for winter and spring

Galanthus nivalis, G. elwesii

Snowdrops Hardy bulbs

Favourite indicator of winter’s end. Small, grassy leaves emerge in midwinter, soon joined by dazzling white blooms whose outer tepals cloak the greenish tipped inner parts. Noteworthy are G. nivalis in single or double form – easily the best for naturalizing – and G. elwesii , whose glaucous leaves are broader and whose flowers may appear earlier.

Soil preference:Any, not too dry

Aspect:Shade or part shade

Season of interest:Winter

Height and spread:Up to 20cm × 10cm (8in × 4in)

Companion plants:Beautiful and welcome everywhere, but best in drifts, with hellebores and winter aconites, perhaps under winter blooming shrubs such as Cornus mas or Salix caprea .

Eranthis hyemalis

Winter Aconite Hardy tuber-bearing perennial

Short stems bearing small, buttercup yellow, muskily fragrant blooms appear a day or two after the winter solstice. Each flower is cradled in a pretty ruff of green foliage. The leaves die down by late spring. A much loved plant whose appearance is brief and stature tiny, but whose timing is perfect.

Soil preference:Any

Aspect:Sun or shade

Season of interest:Winter

Height and spread:10cm × 10cm (4in × 4in)

Companion plants:Beautiful in drifts with snowdrops, under trees or between shrubs. Plant potted specimens in growth.

Cyclamen coum

Hardy tuberous perennial

Kidney-shaped leaves, green or marbled in grey and green, begin to emerge in early winter. By midwinter, flowers shaped like squat ship’s propellers begin to open and are held just clear of the leaves by near-prostrate stems. Typical flower colour is rich carmine or cerise, but there are also pale pink and white forms.

Soil preference:Any, free-draining

Aspect:Sun or part shade

Season of interest:Winter

Height and spread:10cm × 20cm (4in × 8in)

Companion plants:The foliage makes a pretty foil for snowdrops or aconites and the gem-like flowers sparkle among sombre blue winter irises. Also lovely in short grass.

Crocus imperati

Hardy, corm-bearing perennial

Narrow, grassy leaves appear in winter, soon accompanied by the frail crocus blossoms, which are biscuit beige on the outside, decorated with dark blackish purple veining. When the flowers open in sun, their insides are bright violet mauve. See also Crocuses.

Soil preference:Very free-draining

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Late winter, early spring

Height and spread:10cm × 10cm (4in × 4in)

Companion plants:Precious to include in a crocus collection because of the early blooms. Also pretty with winter irises and Cyclamen coum .

Iris danfordiae, Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’

Hardy bulb

Leafless stems emerge in winter, carrying buds which open to bright golden yellow iris blooms. The narrow leaves extend as the flowers fade. Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ (pictured) is a hybrid with extraordinary colouring: veined dusky blue, yellow and white, with dark spots.

Soil preference:Any free-draining

Aspect:Sun

Season of interest:Late winter, early spring

Height and spread:15cm × 10cm (6in × 4in)

Companion plants:Best in small specimen groups among other late winter flowers, or to bring interest to an Alpine collection to precede the main spring show, perhaps of saxifrages and dwarf narcissus.

Leucojum vernum

Spring snowflake Hardy bulb

Clump-forming bulb with dark green, lustrous strap-like leaves which emerge in late winter, just after the flower stems. These carry one, two or three flowers shaped like pleated bells or lanterns; pure white but with a faint green tinge along the tips. Stems and leaves extend after flowering.

Soil preference:Fertile, not too dry

Aspect:Part shade

Season of interest:Late winter, early spring

Height and spread:20cm × 10cm (8in × 4in), spreading

Companion plants:Beautiful among tufts of lime green Hacquetia epipactis or below arching Solomon’s Seal ( Polygonatum multiflorum ) stems, both of which flower a little later.

Focus on…

Narcissus

Daffodils are among the most popular of hardy bulbs. Variable in habit, they range from miniature species and hybrids to tall cultivars with large flowers. Leaves may be strap-shaped or, in miniature species, somewhat grassy. The flowers consist of a trumpet- or cup-shaped corona surrounded by flat or reflexed petals known as perianth segments.

1. Narcissus ‘Jenny’

A pale-flowered cyclamineus hybrid with white, strongly reflexed petals and pale lemon trumpet which fades to cream as the flower ages.