Plant Solutions. Nigel Colborn

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      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.

       2. Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’

      A very large-flowered, commercial variety excellent for cutting but unnatural-looking for small scale wild planting. The pleated lemon cup and white petals, with strong and upright stem give this variety good standing power and, by Narcissus standards, a long life, whether cut or left to bloom outdoors.

       3. Narcissus ‘Tête à Tête’

      Universally popular, Narcissus ‘Tête à Tête’