Description
Dense spikes of purple-blue flowers appear suddenly in August, one day it is summer, next day they are there and the earliest harbigers of autumn are with us.
We find this very easy here and hardy in spite of its “book” reputation and it seems to survive cold well. In one garden I knew, it withstood incredible neglect, (it grew there in a silt-filled bird-bath with no drainage!) yet still flowered each Summer. With care and attention it does far better of course and this is a great little plant for a pan under alpine glass, where the bulbs can be close-packed for a long lasting display.
This is a new stock, raised from plants first found in the Russian part of the Western Caucasus Mountains, near Gelendzhik. The form here is almost evergreen and it loses its leaves very late in the season, even if it is kept dry. It seems to be perfect for gardens which are on the wet side, such as most in the UK. One of our pictures shows two different Scilla types. The plant on the left is the one from Caucasus and the one on the right is the typical form, in this case from Greece.
