PLANT OF THE WEEK

SNAKESHEAD FRITILLARY

Snakeshead fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) crosses the boundary between wild flower and garden treasure.

It grows from a small bulb, and has dainty leaves and slender stems topped by nodding bellshaped flowers.

There’s also a rarer pearly-white form, with petals faintly patterned in squares outlined in pale green. Both flower in April/May and can grow between six and 18 inches tall.

It’s a wonderful plant for naturalising in moist grassland in an orchard or wildflower lawn that’s not mown too much.

Dry bulbs (of cultivated origin) are sold widely in garden centres in the autumn, but during spring you can often buy plants in small pots in bud, or just starting to flower.

Stand three or five pots inside a larger container to make an unusual display for a sheltered part of the patio. When the flowers are done, let the plants set seed. Either sow them in trays or scatter them in a suitable position, and with luck they’ll colonise.