This month the Cornish heaths come into bloom. Three varieties, 'Mrs. D.F. Maxwell', 'Lyonesse' and 'St. Keverne' are a mass of pink and white appreciated by the hummingbirds. Every season I audition several dozen new or promising plants. Two outstanding plants that I have added to my summer repertoire are an annual and a bulb. This foot-tall plant spreads out two feet and is covered in blooms all summer.
Colors are soft lilac through pink and white.
There are some in bloom at Fortuna's Rohner Park at the rodeo entrance garden. After separating clumps of the tiny bulbs I spread them around in my rock garden where they have happily multiplied. My original purchase was a four inch pot, and the area in one season has exceeded several square feet. The grassy foliage is approximately three inches tall with the numerous one-inch white flowers carried slightly higher. This dainty little bulb hasn't stopped blooming since spring.