Autumn Bulbs (with a special spot in the heart for Drimys maritima (Syn Urginea maritima))

I gave a talk on bulbs to my mum's gardening club last week and got some great feedback. It was timely as the autumn bulbs, responding to that fabulous January rain, are shooting up just now: belladonna lilies (pink ones and white), autumn snowflakes, rain lilies.

My favourite, flowering as never before, is Drimys maritima (Syn Urginea maritime, left): stately, handsome and so welcome in the rather - dry garden.

It's time, too, to pore over bulb catalogues and admire new cultivars, some bred here in Australia and consider buying, or re-potting the capsules of joy.

Colchicum, oddly, have not bloomed yet (they often flower in bone-dry January in the  garden or in a paper bag indoors) and it was suggested that their blooming trigger might be a change in barometric pressure. Fascinating! 

Jill Weatherhead is horticulturist, writer, garden designer and principal at Jill Weatherhead Garden Design who lives in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, and works throughout Victoria (www.jillweatherheadgardendesign.com.au)