I am an absolute sucker for virtually any type of bulb. In the past 12 months I have given into my addiction and started up a collection. I’m limited in what I can try as I don’t have any real garden beds (I live on the 5th floor). Instead everything must cope with being pot bound. I thought I’d share with you some of the lovely spring blooming bulbs that I’ve been enjoying lately. First up is this stunning orange tritonia…
It’s botanical name is Tritonia deusta and it is very elegant when it comes out in flower on long arching stems. No perfume unfortunately but a beautiful clear orange.
Next up is a trusty favourite that does have perfume by the bucket loads – the freesia.
If you’ve only ever encountered freesias from the florist then you’ve been ripped off. The florist freesia is a hybrid, bred for huge flowers in a range of colours. They look great admittedly but the perfume has been lost along the way. And trust me, the perfume is to die for. Buy and plant the “old fashioned” sort (Freesia refracta alba) and you’ll be rewarded from early Spring onwards.
Now this delightful bright yellow bulb (above) is called Ipheion sellowianum. Doesn’t exactly just roll off the tongue but you will have to agree that it is charming. It was an impulse buy at a gardening show and it surprised me by repeatedly flowering for several weeks. When it had finished and I potted it up I was astounded to find only two bulbs in the pot. It had given me almost ten flowers and I was duly impressed! It is a small flower though, only 2cm diameter, but a keeper nevertheless.
And now for something much larger, another sparaxis. This purple type (Sparaxis grandiflora ssp grandiflora) was another ebay find. I must say it looked nicer in real life than in this photo.
I hope you’re not getting bored with my spring bulbs. I read somewhere that blogs should be short and punchy but honestly isn’t that what Twitter is for? If you don’t know what Twitter is then consider yourself blessed! Now back to the bulbs. Above is another sparaxis. This one is Sparaxis elegans and looks a little more like the common sparaxis or harlequin flower. I think this one is more elegant as befitting it’s name.
Next on our journey is another generous flowering bulb and another must have. It’s the spring star flower (Ipheion uniflorum).
This charmer flowers and flowers. A word of warning though: It’s foliage can look remarkable similar to that of onion weed so make sure you remember where you planted it. Otherwise you might just dig it out or spray it mistaking it as a weed.
Last on the list is Cyrtanthus o’brienii. Actually I’m not really sure that it’s the true species or if it’s some kind of hybrid. It’s blooms were an unusual colour which almost seemed iridescent. Either way it’s definitely something worth keeping any eye out for when you’re next bulb shopping.
Well I hope you’ve been duly inspired to rush out and buy some bulbs. There really are some terrific ones out there and far more exciting than common tulips and daffodils! Not that I don’t love those either but for most us in Australia cool climate bulbs (like daffs and tulips) aren’t the best choice. Better to go for ones that thrive in our hot environment!
PS Don’t forget to check out The Plant Addict Shop while you’re here.
You’ll find great gift ideas for garden lovers and fellow plant addicts!