Miniature treasures to nurture

TO anyone engaged in the process of taming nature — the essence of garden-making — self-sowing plants are pariahs!

You only have to think of what Alchemilla mollis, many Pulmonarias, Forget-me-Nots and Aquilegias are capable of! But there are a handful of exceptions, notably the small, early-flowering bulbs currently due for planting.

I should therefore introduce you to such miniature treasures as the elegant and exquisite chionodoxa in sky blue, to neat puskinnias in milky-blue, anemone blanda (also in blue or white but never mixed) and scillas in their two-tone blue shades or pure white. I notice them now, box after box neatly laid out on shelf and bench at garden outlets waiting for the keen gardener, the old-stager, the beginner.

What hope and promise they bring to all who garden! But why do we welcome with such warmth these spring treasures? I suspect it has to do with their early arrival, for many begin to show colour towards the end of January and on into February, March, and even later. I have made no mention of the spring crocus, but let me assure that these are as valuable as any of the above! The prince of these is Crocus tommasinianus, the most incontinent of them all, but one of the cheapest with which to start a legion-strong colony.

Crocus tommasinianus originally came to us from the former Yugoslavia. They’re the true species, so don’t be offended when offered small bulbs, for that’s the way of nature not the selling outlet. Their slender flowers were usually lilac-blue with a white tube and these are still available being sold as plain tommasinianus.

However, you are more likely to come across a reddish-purple form sold as ‘Whitewell Purple’ which is very showy and an excellent garden plant, especially for naturalising. ‘Lilac Beauty’ is another and this variety boasts lavender flowers with an attractive silvery reverse. Then there’s ‘Ruby Giant’ (violet with a lighter base and light margin), and ‘Roseus’, an attractive old rose shade unfortunately not often offered for sale except through bulb catalogues. All are good choices for early flowering promise and an ability to naturalise well when happily sited.

They will increase willingly in ground between shrubs and trees but not so quickly perhaps in grass or in areas subject to very high rainfall. Unlike the Chrysanthus forms which come to us from the Balkans and Turkey (’Cream Beauty’ ‘Snowbunting’, ‘Zwaneberg Bronze’, ‘E.A.Bowles’, or ‘Blue Pearl’) the tommasinianus forms do not demand a summer baking in hot sun. They can be safely planted in dozens between silver birches, in multiples beneath graceful magnolias, in under deciduous azaleas, large-leaved evergreen rhododendrons, and summer shrubs of every kind.

A good dramatic winter effect can be achieved by putting a few dozen beneath the sealing-wax red stems of the Westonbirt dogwoods or its bright yellow relation, Cornus flaviramea. Irrespective of which crocus variety you choose, bear in mind that they will look most effective when grown in tight clumps or in carpet fashion in short grass, or towards the front of a border. All will increase willingly over the years.

Few nowadays seem to grow the above-mentioned Chionodoxa siebei (also known as luciliae or Glory of the Snow) but believe me when I say that this determined little self-seeding bulb will, in a short time give the grower hundreds of tiny bright blue blooms each boasting a distinctive white eye. Along with Anemone blanda, this distinctive, miniature bulb has given me a better return than all the others put together!