Discreetly tucked away behind the garden centres' heaps of daffodils and tulips are likely to be the bulbs available in smaller quantities - snowdrops, snowflakes, camassias, tritelias, dog's-tooth violets and maybe even a few of the pretty little Mariposa tulips (Calochortus).
Here, too, are likely to be some fritillarias.
There are some 80 species within the Fritillaria genus. These spring-flowering bulbs are related to lilies (hence common names like snakeshead lily) and tulips.
Like their relatives, fritillarias - known in England as fritillaries - are hardy but intolerant of wet feet. Most prefer to grow in a semi-shaded area where the ground does not dry out in summer. A big point in their favour is they never seem to attract disease.
The most familiar fritillaria is probably the crown imperial (F. imperialis), originally from Turkey and which has orange or yellow flowers on 1m stems. The strong-smelling bulbs and foliage can be off-putting but planting well back in a bed solves the problem. They do well here in the South, as they need cold winters to stop the bulbs deteriorating and dying.
The less common F. persica also has smelly foliage but is worth growing for its dusky purple flowers that hang from the 90cm stems in a line of little bells. The flowers have a sweet perfume, unusual in the genus, as most have no scent at all.
If dark colours are your preference, F. camschatcensis, with flower stems up to 40cm, is deepest maroon, almost black. Native to a wide area, including northern Japan, Siberia, and North America from Alaska to Oregon, it is one of the most prolific fritillarias, increasing rapidly from little rice-like offshoots that appear in their dozens around the main bulb.
The snakeshead lily (F. meleagris) is one of the best to grow from seed, as it can be slow going to get the bulbs to multiply. After it blooms in October, leave the flower heads until the seeds are ripe, then sow them in gritty seed mix. Keep the mix moist but not wet. The plants will start with a single leaf and will not flower, but pop them in the garden - mix soil with river sand for good drainage - and they will perform well for years if left undisturbed.
Smaller fritillarias are good for pot cultivation, while some, such as F. acmopetala, are suitable for growing in a rockery.
Other species, including F. imperialis, have lily-like bulbs and can be increased in the same way; that is, by planting individual scales. They will flower sooner than those grown from seed.
Whatever species you choose, never leave fritillaria bulbs lying about, as having no scaly coat to protect them, they will soon wither and die out of the ground.
It's worth shopping around for the less common species. One mail-order company's latest catalogue has five, including F. assyriaca, F. pontica and F. verticillata, perhaps reflecting the increasing interest in the genus.
However, with freight charges of $9 (some mail-order companies charge even more), the budget conscious or those wanting only a few fritillarias, should try a local garden centre first.
