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Two of my favourite bulbs are coming into flower now, Acidanthera and Polianthes. Both are white flowered and give off the most exquisite scent making them ideal for planting around seating areas, in pots and also for cutting and bringing indoors.
Acidanthera murielae, now renamed as a gladiolus, although a corm is best grown as an annual, planted in June and enjoyed in August and September the same year. They do need to be lifted and stored dry over winter or they tend to rot before they start into growth.
Polianthes tuberosa 'The Pearl' produce stems to 70cm, each with up to 30 waxy tubular white flowers which continue to give off their scent even after the flowers have faded. The oils are used in the french perfume industry, and in Victorian times young girls were forbidden from smelling the flowers incase it made them have a spontaneous orgasm!
