Peter Dowdall: Why I love nerines or Guernsey lilies

Native to South Africa, nerines were first cultivated in the 17th century and have since spread to gardens across the world

Nerine bowdenii: The pink variety of the flower is often the most popular. File picture 

I planted some bulbs of the beautiful Nerine alba a few years ago and had all but forgotten about them as they hadn’t flowered before.

The first year after planting, I waited expectantly, to see their pure white blooms but all I got were leaves. Since then, other things have taken my attention and the bulbs that had been plugged into the energy of the soil back in 2021 were cast from my mind.