CYCLAMEN COUM

HERE’S a gorgeous little gem for your winter garden. Cyclamen coum is the hardiest of all winter-blooming plants. Regardless of weather, the kidney-shaped leaves stay fresh and green. From January onwards these are joined by masses of compact flowers with swept-back petals. Colours range from eye-catching pink to pure white, often with contrasting dark centres. Cyclamen coum grows happily in any well-drained soil, in sun or partial shade, and drifts of them look lovely beneath deciduous trees, along border fronts or in a gravel garden. Newly planted corms may take a year to settle and seedling to first flower usually takes two winters.