Nerine bowdenii is a breathtaking plant, especially on a dull autumn day.
With its tall scapes, terminated by a loose umbel of five to 10 trumpet-shaped, shocking-pink flowers, it must surely be the most exotic autumn-flowering bulb. Each flower has six narrow perianths with flamboyant wavy edges, which in certain lights appear to have been sprinkled with gold. And their faint musky scent carries on the autumn breeze.
Grown as a block or a thick row, Nerine bowdenii is a lively addition to an autumn border.
It flowers outdoors from September to early November, depending on temperature and site, with stems 30cm-50cm (12in-20in) tall. The flowers are long-lasting in the garden and keep going when cut for indoor decoration. The strap-like leaves emerge after flowering and survive the winter undamaged.
The genus Nerine, named after the sea nymphs of Greek mythology, belongs to the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family of herbaceous perennials, as do daffodils and snowdrops, although the flowers look more like lilies.
For many years it was thought that nerines came from Japan, but their native home is, in fact, South Africa, especially the Drakensberg mountains. There are about 30 species, but only a couple are reliably hardy outdoors in the Britain — N. bowdenii and N. undulata.
The former can withstand freezing temperatures, as low as -15C. N. bowdenii bulbs were first brought to Britain from South Africa by Cornish Bowden in 1903, hence the name.
A number of species are grown under glass for cut flowers, especially in the Netherlands. Among them is N. sarniensis var. corusca 'Major' and the white-flowered N. flexuosa 'Alba'. N. sarniensis became naturalised when a ship from Japan was wrecked on the coast of Guernsey in the 17th century.
Nerine bowdenii is a floral firework — a welcome flash of colour as the temperature drops and the days get shorter — that will brighten any garden.
The bulbs are quite large, elongated and shaped like old-fashioned Chianti bottles.
When buying bulbs, ensure that you get true, hardy N. bowdenii. Care taken when selecting a suitable spot in the garden will be repaid by rapid establishment and early flowering. Choose a sunny, well-drained spot such as the base of a south-facing wall. Nerines thrive in hot summers but struggle in cold, wet winters.
Opinion is divided about planting depth; some say that you need 6cm (2in) of soil above the bulb to protect from frost damage, others prefer the bulbs to half-emerge from the soil. A clump in my garden has flourished and multiplied for more than 20 years almost at the soil surface. Once planted, try not to disturb them — they like to grow in a dense clump. Don't worry if the flowering is poor in the first year after planting, just be patient.
Bulbs should be planted in autumn or early winter, spaced 7-10cm apart. Give them a good mulch to protect from frost in the first year until they are fully established. In the wild, nerines grow in very poor soil. Plants grown in richer soil grow bigger with more leaves, but at the expense of flowers. A well-drained coarse, sandy soil, low in nitrogen, is recommended for a maximum number of iridescent blooms.
If the nerines are at the base of a south-facing wall, a star jasmine, such as Trachelospermum jasminioides, could provide long-term interest if planted between the nerines and the wall.
Star jasmine is an evergreen woody climber with glossy dark-green leaves that produces fragrant creamy-white flowers in mid to late summer, followed by long seed pods. In a cottage garden, nerines are sufficiently tall and bold to be added to a mixed border.
Buy Nerine bowdenii from Telegraph GardenShop.