Cyclamen hederifolium
Some new Cyclamen hederifolium have been flowering well over the last month or so. These plants are so special they could never be taken for granted. I remember, 50 years ago, coming across colonies of C. hederifolium growing in the boles of beech trees in the Abruzzi mountains outside Rome. The immensity of the trees emphasised the fragility of the cyclamen’s tiny pink flowers. Cyclamen flowers are delightful. Their scrolled buds are long and narrow. The petals gradually unfurl and as they do they draw backwards as though surprised to find themselves upside down. C. hederifolium, the ivy-leaved cyclamen, isn’t even in flower any longer. Its elegant, long-petalled flowers, usually pink with darker crimson markings at their base, appear from September onwards. Though the flowers of C. hederifolium are reason enough to grow it, it’s the foliage which constitutes the major attraction. Each plant has unique leaves and a whole colony in full leaf provides a rich tapestry of intricate detail in countless shades of green.