A month ago, on March 11th, I noticed the first of the fritillaries to open in the woodland, just one solitary flower.
Fritillaria meleagris.
It was soon joined by a few more.
It wasn’t long before I noticed a double headed one.
I found that quite a few have jumped across the path, this is the only one of flowering size, but I think by next year there should be others joining it.
Once they start flowering, there’s no stopping them!
We seem to be getting more white ones in amongst the purple, which I think is rather nice.
By April 1st they were well into their stride.
They are spreading further down the border, proving that they don’t have to have permanently wet soil.
This means I can sprinkle the seed this year into the other borders where there are spaces.
Rusty pheasant is on guard duty, but shhh…I haven’t heard or seen Mr. P for ages!
I prefer the paler narcissus with the fritillaries, the bright yellow ones will have to go!
Am I tempting fate if I say that not one has been nibbled so far!
By sowing the seed each year, we are getting a lovely variety of shades. We started off, many years ago, with just one packet of purple bulbs, it’s amazing what the seeds produce.
I think the fritillaries are at their peak now, so soon there will be a gradual decline as the seeds are formed. The only minus to the show of flowers is that the foliage just looks like rough grass once flowering is over, the flower stalks elongate so that the seeds are above the foliage, ready for dispersal. A small price to pay for so many pretty flowers I think!
Isn’t it wonderful to see them multiplying like this – you must be thrilled! Mine are established but not yet spreading. Do you actually disperse the seed yourselves, and are there really different shades of purple amongst yours?
I am very happy Cathy with the way the “frits” are spreading and yes, I just sprinkle the seed myself and will be trying it this time in some new areas. With them coming from seed, all sorts of shades are coming, from deep purple through to white, which I think is rather nice.
Tempus fugit and all that Pauline. It doesn’t seem a year ago since your fritillaries were at their peak. They make a more breathtaking show with each spring. I think that you are quite right about the paler narcissus making for better companion planting.
It seems to come round far too quickly doesn’t it Anna. I don’t think there is any more room where the first ones are, they are getting very congested, so will sow some seed this year in spaces in other beds in the woodland and see how they can take a drier soil. Yes, I must remove the large yellow daffodils, they stand out like a sore thumb!
They are an absolute joy Pauline, well done on getting such carpets of them. They look wonderful massed like that.
Thanks Chloris, but all I did was to sprinkle the seed after planting the first few bulbs, that’s all! The flowers do look lovely when there are so many, but the leaves afterwards are very messy, I just have to look the other way!
I always look forward to seeing how your frits are doing, glad to hear it’s another successful spring! I need to remember to spread the seeds around here as well, they’re not spreading quite as fast as I would hope but I think it’s a matter of patience.
The “frits” are fine thank you Frank! Keep spreading the seed Frank, but don’t weed the new little ones out as grass, as they take about 3 yrs to reach flowering size!
Hi Pauline,
Very nice! I had no knowledge of Fritilaries and just learned of them through your blog. They are lovely and even spread themselves about. Well worth checking out for my woodland garden. The beautiful color you have in an April garden is “eye candy” for this Yankee.
They don’t have to be in a woodland Sally, really I think they should be in damp meadows, that’s how they grow in the wild over here. It was pure luck that they like it in the damp part of the little woodland here, they are flowering before the leaves come on the trees so get plenty of light at the moment.
We are lucky in that we have quite mild winters here, so early bulbs make a lovely carpet of colour at this time of year, glad you like them!
I think you have a fantastic display Pauline, you must be so pleased. I planted a few last year for the first time but unfortunately they don’t seem to have survived. Should the bulbs be planted very deep?
Thanks Denise, yes, I am pleased when I see so many flowers which have grown from the seed sprinkled in previous years. It was so long ago when I planted my first and only bulbs, but I don’t think I would have planted them very deep, I think bulbs usually find their own level, they are amazing at finding the right depth, maybe yours are still adjusting.
You have quite a few Pauline. They look gorgeous growing thickly like this.
Here they are still sleeping under a very late snowfall, which hopefully will melt fast.
I’m going to have to spread the seed further this year Alain, things are getting congested in the original spot, but there are still quite a few spaces in the woodland that can be used. I hope your snow soon goes so that you can see your precious plants once more.
Oh my goodness, you have so many of them, how wonderful! They are such lovely and unusual flowers. We have a few that like to grow near our daffodils and benesth three very slender birch trees. I must see if they’re out yet – I suspect not as our weather here in Wales took a turn for the worse recently with hailstorms.
Good to hear from you Val, thanks for leaving a message. They are such pretty flowers, but I have just been over to your blog and see that you have pheasants, we do too and they love to eat fritillary flowers! Hope you don’t have any more hailstorms!
So beautiful! I really love these, especially in such a natural setting. I need to add these to my garden. 🙂
They are a special addition to the little woodland we have here CM, I’m so glad you like them. They don’t really need woodland to grow, as long as the soil is damp, they will grow in the sunshine.
Wow, I’ve never seen so many Fritillaries in one place. I love the variety of colors.
So glad you like them Jason, I have to admit I’m rather pleased with them! The variety of colours comes with sowing the seed, I never know which colour they are going to be, it’s always a nice surprise!
They look wonderful Pauline. I definitely have fritillary envy.
Thanks Jessica, I was surprised this weekend, even our son was impressed when he saw them.
They are lovely Pauline. We were at Killerton, National Trust, yesterday. They had an area of fritillaries in their woodland – but not as good as yours! Did you plant the original bulbs in-the-green?
Sue, you were so close, Killerton is our local National Trust house! No, the bulbs weren’t in the green, they were just a packet of bulbs from the garden centre, maybe I was just lucky!