Still no sign of Mr. P, we haven’t heard him or seen him for months now, maybe he has gone to the big field in the sky. Whatever the reason, the snakeshead fritillaries are flowering nicely in the woodland, without any bites being taken out of them, thank goodness!
Rusty pheasant doing his job and doing it well so far.
I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
I’m very happy and content and will now look forward to spreading the seed even further. The bees were very busy visiting all the flowers last time I was in the woodland, so I’m hoping for a good crop of seed to sprinkle about. Seed sprinkled a few years ago on the other side of the woodland path has now produced flowering plants, so the area is expanding.
So far there is no sign of the dreaded red lily beetle which unfortunately like fritillaries as much as lilies, in previous years any that are found are quickly despatched! Searching for the lily beetles gives me an excuse to be with the fritillaries every day, as if I needed an excuse!
It’s a glorious display Pauline. I’ll get some bulbs in the autumn and try again. Sounds like I should be thinking about a rusty pheasant too. :))
Do try again Jessica, if you have a damp spot, that is what they really like. They will grow in other areas but somewhere that doesn’t get too dry in the summer is best.
Hi Pauline, I’m a bit of a novice, especially when it comes to woodland plants. I had never seen fritillaries before blogging and they are so unusual and beautiful. I love that you are spreading them far and wide. Having planted a couple of them I appreciate the heads-up on lily beetles. Happy Gardening!
In the wild Sally, they grow in damp meadows, not really woodland plants. In our little bit of woodland there is a damp hollow, so I thought I would try them there, I was lucky, they love it!
How nice that they are finally having a peaceful year. Maybe Mr. Pheasant has finally moved on to a more appropriate spring tonic and you can enjoy this one on your own again.
The lighter clump is such a nice contrast to the more typical blooms. Beautiful!
With sprinkling the seed Frank, we are getting all sorts of shades of purple, I agree, the lighter ones certainly stand out. The white ones are pretty but they lose the pattern on the petals which is a shame. It is so lovely not hearing Mr.P squawking in the garden, I can stop worrying about the fritillaries at last!
One of my favorite spring flowers! Mine are way behind this year, I think because of the relatively harsh winter we had. Normally they would be further along. I need to plant more. I’ve never saved seed from them, although I’ve seen them make it. I should try spreading it around. I’m so glad you’re getting such a fabulous display of them this year!
Do sprinkle your seed Alison, it does take a few years before they start flowering, but the wait is worth it. Each seed pod holds so many seeds, they are papery thin, designed I think to float away on the breeze.
What a wonderful show Pauline. They have spread beautifully 🙂
Thanks Rosemarie, it makes me so happy when I see them, even the family are impressed!
What a stunning display, absolutely gorgeous. You have so many!!! You must be having a ball looking at them each day. I think they have to be my favourite spring flowers!xxx
So many with years of sprinkling the seed Dina, it is worth the wait while they build up to flowering. I am having a wonderful time wandering round my little patch, watching and listening to the bees pollinating them all. It was a fabulous weekend here, so warm and sunny, the bees were out in force.
Oh Pauline! These are spectacular. You must be thrilled. /susie
Thank you Susie, I have to admit, I am rather delighted with them! In this country, in the wild, they grow in damp meadows, so maybe I ought to try growing some of them in a damp area of the grass?
What a wonderful display Pauline. The flowers really are extremely beautiful, and what a bonus that Mr Pheasant has kept away! I didn’t know that lily beetles like fritillaries. When clearing up in the garden yesterday I found a lily beetle and wondered what it was doing there but didn’t make the connection. It was right on the little patch where I planted a few fritillaries last year.
We are so pleased Denise, that we are pheasantless at the moment! So sorry to hear that you have found a red lily beetle, did you get rid of it? When approached they usually fall off the plant and land upside down where they can’t be seen on the soil, I always put a white tissue underneath them, knock them off, then stamp on them on the paving!! They don’t do the actual damage, it is their awful offspring that create such havoc on the lilies, let’s hope yours hadn’t laid any eggs anywhere.
I have a kill on sight policy where the lily beetles are concerned! There were many last year and my lilies did get some damage despite my efforts. But I do like your idea of the white tissue on the ground as I know I miss some when they fall to the ground.
There’s no space between my fritillaries Denise, to put the tissue on the ground, I hold it underneath before I knock them off the plant!
Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Gorgeous, thank you Pauline; you have the best Snakeshead Frittilaries, Lily beetles have put me off growing lilies but if I could grow Fritilaries I would stand guard all day and every day!
Wow, that’s praise indeed Christina, thank you so much! I’ve almost given up on growing lilies because of the beetle, just a few left now.
They look wonderful. Fritillaria meleagris are one of my favourite plants, and what a beautiful collection you have in your woodland. Plus the primroses and daffs! What a delight it must be to see them every day.
One of my favourites too Julieanne, so different from all the daffodils at the moment. I hadn’t realised what a special place the little woodland would become when we bought the house many years ago, it is now my favourite part of the garden.
I have loved fritillaries since the first time I saw them in a catalogue years ago. Who could not fall for a checked flower?! I have never seen them in person; they must not do well in my area. I did plant some once, but they failed to even come up. So I must admire and envy your wonderful display from afar. Your entire woodland area is a dream!
Sorry to hear that your fritillaries didn’t survive Deb, they do like it damp under their roots, maybe it was too dry where you planted them. Or it could be that your summers are too hot for them.
What a thrilling celebration of spring! They are so beautiful, especially with the soft yellow primulas and narcissus. Rusty pheasant is doing an admirable job. There are no snake fritillaries in the garden here, but I did see a beautiful 3-foot black snake yesterday…on its way to eat a chipmunk, I hope!
It is isn’t it Marian, and they contrast so beautifully with the primrose yellow around them. The only snakes we have in our garden are grass snakes, totally harmless to us humans, but they swim in the pond catching the tadpoles unfortunately.
You must be so thrilled with your unmolested clumps, Pauline!
I have to admit that I am Cathy, it makes such a difference when there aren’t big bites taken out of the flowers!
They are stunning Pauline. Did you start with bulbs? They look so fragile but seem quite tough. Although I planted some in-the-green about 3 years ago and they did not reappear and the soil here is quite moist. I just love the variety of shades you have.
Thank you Sue, yes I started with one packet of bulbs from the garden centre, the rest is all from our own seed sprinkled each year by me. The different shades just appear by themselves, they were all purple to start with. I wonder why yours weren’t successful, what a pity.
Hurrah! Your display of Fritillaries is spectacular. You must be delighted.
Yes I am Jason, really delighted! Mr. P must have moved on , thank goodness, I can stop worrying now.
Such a wonderful flower, and so many of them in your garden. The other day I found some in place I didn’t plant them, so the ants much have been busy. Good to hear Mr P. is not gobbling yours up any longer.
Thank you Helle, so glad you like them. It’s amazing the way they pop up unexpectedly, what a lovely surprise it was for you. No sign at all of Mr P, he must have moved on to pastures new.
So beautiful – I love the pale ones in the close up photos, although the purple ones are gorgeous against the yellow cowslips. I really must get some for next year’s spring garden. If you get any seed, I’d love a post on how you collect seed from them for sprinkling around – or is it really obvious?
Would you like me to send you some seed Caro, we have so much of it when the time is right? I can certainly do a post, it will be about June when I collect the seed and sprinkle it.