Agapanthus Africanus and Agapanthus Africanus Album
(African Lily) These are clump forming bulbs, which if given winter protection will remain evergreen, so can be used in heated conservatories as well. Ideal for patios in pots or even planted into a hole in the slab work. The secret with them if kept in pots is to get them root bound, which will not take to long, and to starve them. If fed they will put on lots of leaf but no flowers. If in the border use a winter mulch to protect the crown of the bulb. They flower from mid summer in to the autumn, and large clumps produce impressive displays, with many large round flower heads standing up to 3ft tall, made up of many trumpet shaped flowers, in a good deep sky blue or pure white. Requires full sun, and well drained winter soils. If in pots, water well in the growth period, but do not feed regularly, pot up occasionally using a sandy peat mix, reaching the final pot size required. They survive quite happily in the south of the UK, planted in the border with very little care, and are ideal for coastal locations.

Dierama
Dierama come from the mountains in South Africa, and are well able to cope with British weather, even Scottish winters. Their common name is “Angel’s fishing rod”. The rod is the slender stem, arising from a clump of thin iris like leaves, which arches under the weight of the flowers, “the fish”. We have three Dierama varieties for sale. Dierama Pulcherrimum Black Bird has the darkest flowers of deep claret. Dierama Argyreum is distinctive in this genus by having white flowers that open from sulphur yellow buds. And the Dierama Pulcherrimum Hybrids, are in various shades of purply pink. They require an open site in full sun to light shade, with rich soil, and not to dry. They grow into decent size clumps to about 3 ft in height, where they flower from July onwards. They can be used in containers but must be watered well in hot weather.