Behold a colourful mass of naked ladies emerging from a tangle of periwinkle that I happened upon on an afternoon walk. I highly recommend planting colchicum corms in any-sized garden, even if you are a beginner. [How to grow info is here.]

In fact, I still have the bulbs (and their progeny) that are seen here in 2007. I kept them alive for 4 years with little effort or attention, tucked into a corner of my community garden plot until I was finally able to transplant them here into my new garden this spring. They did bloom recently; however, I expect more from them next fall.

Periwinkle (Vinca minor), on the other hand, is an invasive, yet popular groundcover here in the Province of Ontario and a plant that I would not recommend.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to use colchicum, I wrote a little here about how gardener Brian Bixley underplants his apple trees with them.