Fritillaria Maxima Lutea

Fritillaria Maxima Lutea, The much-loved Crown Imperial, one of the most theatrical bulbs around.

In mid-spring it carries a cluster of pendulous lemon-yellow flowers under a tuft of green leaves. Parkinson, the grand old gardener of 17th century England, claimed it 'deserveth first place in all gardens'.

Native of the sunbaked mountains of south-east Turkey and Iran. Easily grown in sun or in the shade of leaf-losing trees. The bulb spread a penetrating smell, which, although hardly detectable once planted, has given the plant a reputation for keeping rodents at bay. Height 1m.

Suggestion: beautiful in the back of the smaller bulbs of early spring: yellow Narcissus like Minnow and Tête à Tête or drifts of the yellow-white wild Tulipa tarda.