Nerines are, unfortunately, still far too rare as fall-flowering bulbs in our gardens. The famous English plant collector Margaret Owen (1930–2014) once maintained the “National Collection” of this genus. Margaret managed to amass no fewer than four National Collections in her later garden, “The Patch,” in Shropshire. She was a warm-hearted gardening friend and my valued advisor on many gardening matters. It is likely thanks to her that nerines became popular in our gardens at all. I own a whole range of her breeding successes and delight in these magnificent plants year after year. With every Nerine bloom that blossoms here at HORTVS, glorious—and sometimes hilariously funny—memories of “Dear Old Margaret” come flooding back to me (she was a formidable card player and a dangerously fast driver).
Nerines are native to South Africa and prefer a full-sun garden location, ideally with a wall in the background. They thrive when their thick bulbs are literally baked in the summer heat, which has a positive effect on flower production. The soil should be well-drained but not too nutrient-poor. I grow these special plants in a gravel bed in front of a west-facing wall, among other heat-tolerant plants. For most perennials, it would be far too hot here in the afternoon and evening sun, but Margaret’s nerines thrive in this spot, and I’m delighted to see the clumps becoming more lush with each passing year.
