Naturalising & Interesting Bulbs

Colchicum autumnale is one of autumn’s most enchanting moments: refined lilac‑pink, cup‑shaped blooms rising cleanly from the ground just as summer begins to soften. Compact and quietly impactful, it lends an effortless air to borders, pots, and naturalised areas—particularly where you’d like colour to appear with a pleasing sense of surprise.

Plant the corms in early autumn and allow them to settle; this fully hardy perennial forms neat clumps and returns reliably, offering elegant autumn colour with minimal fuss.

• Flowering: September–October
• Height: 10–20 cm
• Position: Full sun or partial sun
• Soil: Well‑drained; suits chalk, clay, loam, or sand
• Planting time: August–October
• Bulb size supplied: 13/15 cm
• Hardiness: Fully hardy

Crocus 'Aqua' is a refined, early-spring crocus in violet-purple with warm orange centres—just the thing for threading through lawns, gravel and the very front of the border when the garden is beginning to stir again.

Neat, goblet-shaped blooms sit above green foliage marked with a silvery stripe, forming tidy clumps that look particularly smart in pots by the door, scattered through a rockery, or allowed to naturalise beneath deciduous trees.

• Colour: Violet-purple with orange centers
• Best for: Naturalising in lawns, rockery & gravel gardens, pots & containers, and front-of-border detail
• Season: Plant in autumn for flowers from late winter into spring
• Growing level: Easy, fully hardy, and reliably perennial

Crocus chrysanthus 'Blue Pearl' is a beautifully refined early crocus, opening in cool pearl-blue tones with a crisp, pale centre. Small in stature yet wonderfully effective, it is just the thing for threading through lawns, skimming the front of borders, or finishing a pot display with a calm, considered flourish.

Plant in autumn and allow the corms to settle; by late winter into early spring, this little classic brings a fresh lift when the garden most appreciates it. Particularly charming when planted in generous drifts for a natural, unforced look.

• Colour: White with pale blue-lilac
• Flower shape: Cup Shaped
• Best for: Naturalising in grass, rock gardens, containers, and the front of borders
• Pollinator friendly: Yes
• Hardiness: Fully Hardy

Crocus chrysanthus 'Fuscotinctus' is a rather refined little species crocus, opening early with neat, goblet-like blooms in warm gold, delicately feathered with bronze-purple. It brings a considered touch of colour just as winter begins to loosen its grip—particularly charming threaded through lawns, tucked into gravel, or dressed in smart spring pots by the door.

Reliable, fully hardy and effortless to naturalise, it forms tidy clumps year on year in well-drained ground. Plant in autumn and look forward to a poised late-winter display, with flowers that are welcome to early pollinators.

• Colour: Yellow with bronze-purple markings
• Flowering: February–March
• Best for: pots & containers, rockeries & gravel gardens, lawns & naturalising, front of border, pollinator planting

Crocus chrysanthus 'Gipsy Girl' is a bright early-spring species crocus with golden-yellow goblet flowers and distinctive bronze-brown striping across the outer petals. The markings are especially striking while the flowers are closed, before the warm yellow centres open in sunshine.

Compact, fully hardy and easy to naturalise, it is an excellent choice for gravel gardens, lawns, the front of borders and containers. Plant in generous groups for the strongest late-winter and early-spring display.

• Flower colour: Golden yellow with bronze-brown outer striping
• Form: Cup shaped
• Best for: Naturalising, rockeries, borders and containers
• Pollinator friendly: Yes
• Growing skill: Easy

Crocus vernus 'Grand Maitre' is an early spring classic, opening in rich lilac-purple with a deeper purple base and a warm golden centre. It is precisely the sort of small luxury that makes March feel optimistic again—especially when planted in generous drifts through grass, or displayed in pots by the front door where it can be enjoyed at close quarters.

These large-flowering crocus are naturally neat and well-mannered, forming tidy clumps and returning year after year. Plant in autumn and allow them to settle; by their second season they reward with a more confident show.

• Colour: Purple with yellow centre
• Best for: Naturalising in lawns, pots & containers, rockeries and the very front of the border
• Pollinator friendly: Yes

Crocus 'Jeanne d'Arc' is a quietly elegant early-spring crocus, prized for its generously sized, goblet-shaped blooms in crisp white, gently shaded with purple at the base. Each flower is finished with vivid orange, delicately frilled stigmas—an exquisite detail at the very start of the season.

Plant the corms in autumn for a refined display in pots, borders and rockeries, or let them drift naturally through grass for a fresh, meadow-like look. Fully hardy and pleasingly straightforward, it returns year after year, building into neat clumps over time.

Crocus 'Mixed Colours' is a cheerful species crocus blend for early spring colour, bringing purple, white, yellow and soft mixed tones to lawns, pots, borders and gravel gardens.

Plant the corms in autumn and they will settle quickly into free-draining soil. Their short, bright flowers are valuable for early pollinators and look especially good planted in generous groups where they can naturalise over time.

Crocus tommasinianus 'Ruby Giant' is a splendid little herald of spring, opening early with rich purple cups that soften elegantly to a paler base. Tucked into short grass, threaded beneath deciduous shrubs, or arranged in pots by the front door, it lends a quietly luxurious lift just when the garden most needs it.

A dependable tommasinianus crocus, it settles in happily and, in time, forms pleasing drifts—ideal for naturalistic planting where you’d like the display to feel effortless and established.

• Colour: Purple with softer, paler base tones
• Best use: Naturalising in lawns & meadows, under shrubs, or in pots and containers
• Flowering: February to March
• Growing skill: Easy

Crocus tommasinianus is one of the most graceful ways to welcome spring. Its lilac-to-rich purple goblet flowers open neatly above slender stems just as the first narrow leaves appear, creating a light, natural-looking display that sits beautifully in lawns, borders and pots.

Plant in autumn and allow it to settle; it will return each year with quiet reliability, offering early colour at ground level and a welcome source of interest in late winter and early spring.

• Colour: Purple (lilac to rich purple tones)
• Best for: Lawns & naturalising, borders, containers, rock gardens, under deciduous trees
• Style: Refined, naturalistic drifts with a delicate, early-season presence

Narcissus 'Red Devon' brings a quietly dramatic note to mid-spring borders and containers: crisp yellow petals set off by a warm orange-red trumpet. Planted in autumn, it returns reliably each year, forming handsome clumps that look particularly smart woven through mixed spring displays.

With its classic trumpet form and good substance, ‘Red Devon’ is equally at home in pots by the front door or in the cutting garden for bright, composed indoor arrangements.

• Colour: Yellow with orange-red cup
• Flowering: April
• Height: 40-45 cm
• Bulb size supplied: 14/16 cm
• Position: Full-Sun, Partial Sun

Eranthis cilicica ‘Cilicica Group’ is a small but thoroughly distinguished winter aconite, bringing a welcome glint of bright yellow to the garden just as winter begins to loosen its grip. Neat, cup-shaped flowers sit above finely divided, rich green foliage, creating a jewel-like effect in woodland edges and beneath deciduous shrubs.

Ideal for naturalising, this tuberous perennial is particularly handsome when planted in generous drifts where it may settle in over time. A lovely choice for lawns (where mowing can wait until the foliage has died back), as well as underplanting trees and shrubs for an early season flourish.

• Flowering: February–April
• Height: 10cm
• Habit: Clump-forming; well-suited to naturalising
• For: Woodland gardens, underplanting, naturalising in grass

Erythronium 'D.C. Mixed' is a quietly beautiful, naturalising blend for early spring—each bulb producing poised, starry blooms in a gentle palette of white through to rosy purple, often set off by attractively mottled foliage. Tuck into borders, beneath deciduous shrubs, or drift through woodland-style planting for an effortless, established look that improves with time.

Best in a sheltered position with dappled shade, this refined mix is particularly charming when planted in groups, where the subtle variation reads as deliberately curated rather than busy. Fully hardy and pollinator friendly, it’s an elegant way to soften the season’s first weeks.

• Flowering: April–May
• Height: 1–25cm (Short)
• Position: Sheltered; best in dappled shade under deciduous trees
• Ideal for: Naturalising, woodland-style planting, borders, and underplanting deciduous shrubs

Erythronium 'Pagoda' is a particularly graceful woodland bulb, producing swept-back, star-shaped flowers in soft yellow above handsome, mottled foliage. It settles in beautifully beneath deciduous shrubs and at the front of lightly shaded borders, where its refined spring display feels both natural and quietly special.

Clump-forming and fully hardy, this dog’s tooth violet is well suited to naturalising in a well-drained soil—especially where the ground holds moisture in spring yet never sits waterlogged.

• Flower colour: Yellow
• Flowering period: April–May
• Height: 25–35 cm
• Spread: 10–20 cm
• Position: Partial sun (ideal for woodland gardens and the shaded edge of borders)

Erythronium d.c. 'Purple King' is a quietly distinguished spring-flowering bulb, prized for its poised, nodding blooms in polished purple-rose tones. It slips beautifully into lightly shaded borders and woodland-style planting, where it reads as wonderfully natural rather than ‘placed’.

In mid to late spring, slender stems rise above attractively mottled foliage, bringing a refined flourish beneath deciduous trees and at the edge of shrubs. Given a settled spot with moisture and good drainage, it will form graceful clumps over time.

• Flowering: April–May
• Height: 25–40cm
• Best for: naturalising, woodland gardens, shady borders
• Position: sheltered, lightly shaded sites; woodland edges and beneath deciduous trees

Erythronium 'White Beauty' is a quietly exquisite fawn lily for woodland-style planting, admired for its softly mottled foliage and poised, nodding flowers. In late spring, creamy-white, starry blooms open with a warm reddish-brown throat marking—an understated detail that looks particularly refined beneath shrubs, roses, and light-canopied trees.

Best in dappled shade and humus-rich soil that stays gently moist yet drains well, this clump-forming perennial settles in beautifully and will naturalise with time, bringing a calm, considered elegance to shady borders.

• Flowering: April to June
• Height: 30cm
• Spread: 10cm
• Position: Sheltered, Partial Sun
• Soil: Humus-rich, fertile, well-drained; moisture-retentive
• Hardiness: Fully Hardy
• Bulb size: Grade 1

Fritillaria persica 'Adiyaman' is a wonderfully architectural spring bulb, sending up poised, upright stems lined with slender green foliage and finished with a refined spire of nodding, bell-shaped blooms. The colouring sits in the deepest purple-brown, reading almost black in certain light—quietly dramatic, and effortlessly sophisticated.

Plant through autumn for a statement in mixed borders, gravelly schemes, and naturalistic planting where its vertical form brings a sense of intention. Equally handsome in large containers in a sheltered courtyard position, where the flowers can be admired up close.

• Colour: Deep purple (near-black)
• Flower shape: Bell-shaped, nodding
• Height: 50–100cm
• Ideal for: Borders, containers, courtyard gardens, naturalising

Fritillaria meleagris ‘Alba’ is a quietly exquisite spring-flowering bulb, bearing pristine white, nodding bells on slender stems above grey-green foliage. It lends a refined, natural charm when threaded through grass, tucked into woodland-style planting, or placed neatly at the front of a border—an elegant alternative to the more familiar chequered forms.

Best planted in early autumn for a relaxed, naturalised effect, this fully hardy perennial settles in gently and rewards patience with an increasingly lovely showing year by year.

Why you’ll love it

• Pure white, bell-shaped flowers with a graceful, nodding habit
• Superb for naturalising in grass and weaving through spring borders
• Fully hardy and pollinator friendly
• Compact and refined at around 30cm tall

Fritillaria imperialis ‘Aurora’ is a wonderfully statuesque crown imperial, raising tall stems topped with a neat tuft of glossy green leaves and a ring of nodding, bright orange, bell-shaped blooms. It brings a refined sense of theatre to spring borders, and sits particularly well amongst early tulips, narcissi and fresh, emerging perennials.

Plant in autumn and allow it time to settle; once established, this is a confident, architectural bulb for naturalistic planting, under open-canopied deciduous trees, or in a sheltered position where its form can be properly appreciated.

• Colour & form: bright orange bells beneath a leafy green crown
• Best for: borders, naturalising, cottage & informal gardens
• Flowering: March–May
• Delivered as: premium-grade bulb (20/+)

Fritillaria 'Garland Star Imperialis' brings a note of theatre to the spring border: tall, architectural stems crowned with elegantly pendulous, bell-shaped flowers. It is a wonderfully naturalistic choice for planting in drifts through borders and light woodland edges, where its stately form reads beautifully amongst tulips, early perennials and fresh spring foliage.

• Refined spring structure with distinctive, hanging bells for an assured, botanical look
• Excellent for naturalising in a sheltered position with reliable drainage
• Deer resistant and pollinator friendly for considered, wildlife-aware planting
• Superb in borders and useful for cutting when you want something a little out of the ordinary

Delivery: Order today for delivery in September, perfectly timed for autumn planting.

Fritillaria persica ‘Ivory Bells’ is a beautifully poised fritillary, valued for its tall, architectural spires of softly nodding, green-tinted ivory bells. Rising above cool grey-green foliage, it lends a composed, contemporary note to spring borders and looks equally distinguished when threaded through meadow-style planting.

Plant in autumn into fertile, well-drained soil and allow it a little time to settle; by its second or third season it will reward you with a statuesque presence from April through to June. An assured choice for gardeners who appreciate structure as much as flower.

• Quiet drama for late spring — elegant, bell-shaped flowers in refined ivory with a fresh green touch
• Superb vertical form — ideal for borders, naturalising and handsome containers
• Pollinator friendly — a welcome stop for spring-foraging insects