Gareth Winter: Turn on the colour

Muscari comosum, better known as the grape hyacinth, is a tough little critter that will survive neglect with aplomb.

Bulbs and other blooms are bursting forth. Gareth Winter finds out more

After another bad week weather-wise, the garden is looking tired instead of full of life the way it should. Spring has definitely arrived, though, as bulbs are bursting out in the garden and, as always, they are very much welcome.

White Ipheion is a cousin to onions, garlic and leeks.

A non-gardening friend posted a few photographs of the bulbs flowering in the garden around his house. He is a keen photographer so it was no surprise that he chose daffodils as one of his subjects -- surely the daffodil must be one of the most photogenic of all flowers.

He also photographed a much less popular bulb, the cute little star flower, Ipheion uniflorum. This light-blue flowering bulb is a member of the vast Allium family, and thus a cousin to onions, garlic and leeks. This is a very pretty and hardy little plant that, once established, should steadily grow until it makes a strong clump. It is a small bulb, perhaps 100mm high, that flowers from early to late spring, even coping with quite bad weather. The leaves are narrow and grass-like, with a slight bluish cast, and form a strong clump overtopped by the flowers, borne singly on each stem. Several varieties are available overseas, but they are not so commonly found in New Zealand. In our garden, we have a lovely light blue, and one that is very nearly white, with just a hint of pale icy blue. One with an even deeper blue colour called "Wisley Blue" is sometimes offered in New Zealand.

Another little blue-flowered bulb blooming now is the plant we grew up with and my family calls "sailor boys", the grape hyacinth, Muscari armeniacum. This is a cheeky little flower, once grown in almost all New Zealand gardens, with its perky little blue flowers looking just like a miniature hyacinth. This is a tough little critter that will survive the most egregious neglect with aplomb, forming good-sized clumps and popping out with bright blue splashes every spring.

There are several forms of Muscari, and we grow a few, including two different whites. The white ones are perhaps even better than the blue, with icy colouring standing out well against the deep green leaves. They are perhaps not quite so tough as the blue forms, but still hardy nonetheless.

The odd Plumosum, with feathery flowers, has also found a place in our garden. This slightly peculiar plant, not really much like the other members of its genus, is also known as the feather hyacinth. It looks more like a feathery plume than its grapey kin, making a good 500mm cut flower. The bulbs have a peculiar pink colour and the flowers veer more towards violet than blue.

Lachenalia "Rupert", is flowering now.

Another odd plant flowering at the moment, and which is right out of the expected colour range, is the blue Lachenalia "Rupert". Many will be familiar with the red-tipped yellow flowers of the common form of this bulb, usually known as "Pearsonii". You may even have tried the red-flowered form, L bulbifera, which flowers in mid-winter.

Over the past few years, Dutch and other breeders have been working with this group of flowers, developing hardier forms, and also creating varieties designed for pot-plant culture in Europe, with an increased range of colours.

Having a warmer climate, we can take advantage of these advances and plant many of these new varieties in our gardens. They are derived from sun-loving South Africans, so need a warm spot with free-draining soil. Although they prefer full sun, they will also do well in a dry, semi-shaded spot with the emphasis on dry.

We have grown "Romelia" and it has done well for us with deep golden-orange flowers, borne in abundance, early in the spring. It is a good cut flower, if you can bear to cut them, but "Rupert" is a revelation for those not familiar with the many natural species and thus unaware of the wild colour range. This form has light lavender-blue flowers on stems about 25cm high.

We have a little clump in the garden, surrounded by taller flowering daffodils, but its bright little flowers still stand out.

This is also the time of the year for freesias.

It does not matter whether you grow the old white-flowered form "Burtonii", with its wonderful golden throats and heavenly scent, or some of the more modern forms with purer colours and even double flowers, these are among the most cheerful of all bulbs.