Plant Solutions. Nigel Colborn

Gladiolus callianthus

      Acidanthera Near hardy, corm-bearing perennial

      Sword-like leaves arranged in a fan shape are joined in late summer by tall flower spikes bearing fragrant white blooms, whose centres are boldly marked with dark crimson or purple. Each flower hangs on a short, but elegantly curved stalk. Previously known as Acidanthera.

      Soil preference: Any free-draining

      Aspect: Sun

      Season of interest: Late summer, early autumn

      Height and spread: 120cm × 30cm (4ft × 1ft)

      Companion plants: A great mixer, beautiful in pots among Eucomis, lilies or with containerized bedding such as tuberous begonias, hot-coloured dahlias or fuchsias.

       Agapanthus africanus

      Tender bulb

      These evergreen agapanthus – superb for containers – are more tender than deciduous kinds and need winter protection. Bold, strap-shaped leaves and massive stems bear generous umbels of blue, or in ‘Alba’, white flowers. ‘Sapphire’ is dark blue; ‘Glen Avon’, lilac blue and the impressive ‘Purple Cloud’, deep purple-blue.

      Soil preference: Free-draining

      Aspect: Sun

      Season of interest: Summer

      Height and spread: Up to 1.5m × 1m (5ft × 3ft 3in)

      Companion plants: Beautiful as solo performers, but also effective with mixed containers of architectural foliage plants. A cool effect is achieved with the silver foliage of artemisias, Helichrysum petiolare or Felicia amelloides.

       Bulbs for growing in grass

       Crocus tommasinianus

      Hardy corm-bearing perennial

      Tiny crocuses which appear at winter’s end. The outer petals are soft greyish lilac but when the flowers open to the sun, their interiors are bright mauve. Though free seeding, they also spread by underground stolons. Improved forms include ‘Whitewell Purple’ whose flowers are dark purple.

      Soil preference: Any, not too wet

      Aspect: Sun or part shade

      Season of interest: Late winter, spring

      Height and spread: 10cm × 5cm (4in × 2in)

      Companion plants: Best for naturalizing in grass with daffodils or narcissus to follow, or perhaps among emerging snake’s head fritillaries.

       Crocus large Dutch hybrids

      Hardy corm-bearing perennial

      Grassy leaves, with central white stripe, and bold, gobletshaped flowers, which are held well clear of the leaves. Colours can be purple, mauve or white – often with bold, contrasting stripes or veins on outer petals – as well as yellow. Out of scale with other species of crocus and being very showy best kept apart.

      Soil preference: Any, not wet

      Aspect: Sun or part shade

      Season of interest: Early spring

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

      Companion plants: Fine in grass, with daffodils, or in border fronts among primulas or winter and spring pansies.

       Scilla bifolia

      Alpine Squill Hardy bulb

      Twin leaves, grooved and suffused with bronze when young, appear from each bulb on either side of the short stems, which carry a small spray of azure flowers. A free self-seeder, quick to naturalize in a part-shaded or sunny wild garden. Modest, but beautiful.

      Soil preference: Fertile but free-draining

      Aspect: Sun or shade

      Season of interest: Spring

      Height and spread: 10cm × 5cm (4in × 2in)

      Companion plants: Often found in the wild, growing with Crocus sieberi and wild fritillaries – a worthy combination to imitate at home.

       Narcissus pseudonarcissus

      Wild Daffodil, Lenten Lily Hardy bulb

      The species that inspired the poet Wordsworth. Strap-shaped leaves in glaucous green among which short stems bear blooms with forward-sweeping lemon petals and a darker, flared, yellow trumpet. This species naturalizes best in high rainfall areas where summers are cool, but is not difficult to establish in moisture-retentive, humus-rich soil elsewhere.

      Soil preference: Rich, leafy and not too dry

      Aspect: Part shade, shade

      Season of interest: Spring

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

      Companion plants: A plant of hedgerows, stream sides and woodland borders, beautiful beneath large trees, between shrubs such as camellias or early rhododendrons and lovely in the grass of an established fruit orchard.

       Cyclamen repandum

      Hardy tuber-bearing perennial

      Broad, bluntly pointed leaves, sometimes faintly marbled, unfurl in spring accompanied by small cyclamen blooms whose petals are swept right back. Typical colour is vivid carmine pink, but the subspecies from the island of Rhodes, C. repandum var. rhodense, has pink-flushed white blooms with darker centres. More difficult to establish than most hardy cyclamen.

      Soil preference: Humus-rich, well-drained

      Aspect: Part shade or shade

      Season of interest: Spring

      Height and spread: 15cm × 20cm (6in × 8in)

      Companion plants: A woodland species, best among humus-loving plants such as Anemone nemorosa, oxlips and violets, perhaps in shaded, sparse grass along the edge of a shrubbery.

       Tulipa kaufmanniana ‘Guiseppi Verdi’

      Hardy bulb

      Broad, faintly striped foliage arranged along the stems which bear a single, elongated tulip flower. The outer petals