Plant of the week: Fritillaria
One of the prettiest, if not shyest, of spring-flowering bulbs, fritillaria, get their name from the Latin for dicebox, referring to their chequered flowers.
The bell-like blooms open in spring but keep their faces towards the ground – it pays to plant some of the more delicate varieties in pots and raise them off the ground so you can admire them better. All fritillarias like a well-drained soil and plenty of sun. Plant them in late autumn (put a bit of coarse sand in the planting hole) and wait for them to appear in April. The delightful, seemingly delicate but tough snake's head fritillaria is ideal for pots and the front of a border, while the stately Crown Imperial needs more careful positioning – it can top three feet in height. But there are numerous varieties with flowers ranging from white to orange. And, of course, the chequerboard itself, F meleagris.