Search - Articles

Carol Klein offers advice on getting the best results from moisture-loving plants cowslip and fritillary.springMore advice on growing primulasTreating primula leaf spotHow to rejuvenate primrosesBrowse primula varieties

. In addition to trying again with a few delicate crocuses I've also planted an area with Fritillaria meleagris, the snake's head fritillary. I've always loved these bulbs, and have been lucky enough to find them growing naturally in meadows in some parts

I love daffodils. To get the best from these wonderful flowers, I plant up a dozen plastic aquatic baskets with spring bulbs in autumn, choosing varieties that flower at different times. When spring arrives, I pop one basket after another

in the flowers as they open.I’m aiming to have something in bloom for passing insects from January, starting with winter aconites and snowdrops, moving to snake’s head fritillary and grape hyacinth. Then, for me, I’m growing my favourite daffodil: ‘Minnow

their cousins the cabbages.Adam suggested imperial fritillaries, which can have quite a foxy odour, especially on sunny days (they too have a smelly relation, the stink bell, Fritillaria agrestis, which grows wild in the heavy soils of California). But his wife