Horticultural highlight of the week (2014 week 13) - Snakeshead Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)

Another late post - I'm doing my best to catch up, currently about three weeks behind!

I'm always amazed that this is a native wildflower in the UK, as it has the air of a tiny exotic, with its intricate chequerboard pattern (almost like snakeskin). I've never seen one in the wild, I'm guessing its a rarity these days.

Snakeshead Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)

I bought a handful of each of two varieties - the usual purple/white check and pure white. After two years of both flowering, I haven't seen any white ones this year, and only four of the purple ones. I'm not sure if the bulbs have a limited lifespan or if squirrels have been digging them up (there's possible evidence of squirrel activity in the garden in that several baby horse chestnuts have appeared).

I've naturalised them in grass which is where they look best, as their leaves are long and linear like grass. I'll definitely be adding a few clumps of these delicate gems when I get to my our garden (wherever that is) although I probably won't bother with the pure white variety again.

Snakeshead Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) with aphids!

Plant of the week - white bearded iris

This majestic bearded iris was given to me by my mother about 4 years ago. I'd never grown irises before so was surprised to learn how tasty slugs and snails find them!

White flag iris

The blooms really are stunning, with delicate papery white petals on a stem 2 feet high. Each flower-bearing stem has about four blooms, they are each only in their prime for a couple of days before they wither and its neighbour comes into its own.

They aren't without problems, slugs and snails (a real pest in my garden) love the sword-like leaves and will eat the whole lot if they aren't protected. I use copper rings to protect my vulnerable plants as its more effective, more environmentally-friendly and in fact less effort than slug pellets, although the initial cost may be off-putting, the rings last for years. The tall stems are also at the mercy of heavy rain and wind, but I may not have planted the rhizome deep enough to make them stable.

Last year I managed to divide the one plant into two, one of which I planted in an open space away from other plants of a similar height (the one in the photo) and one among the delphiniums and poppies, which was a total mistake as the slugs used those plants as ladders to hop over the copper ring and reduce the iris to a stump. You live, plant and learn.