Bowden Lily Rosea 'Mr. John'

'Mr. John' is a superior selection of the well-loved Guernsey Lily, offering deeper, more intensely pink flowers than the standard species. These bulbs are a highlight of the late autumn garden, producing leafless stems topped with umbels of lily-like flowers with gracefully recurved petals. They appear just as the rest of the Mediterranean garden is beginning to fade. In the UK, they require a very sunny, baked position to thrive—the foot of a south-facing wall is the classic location. They should be planted with their necks just above the soil surface and left undisturbed to form large, flowering clumps. They are hardy to H4, but the key to success is poor soil and maximum sun exposure to ripen the bulbs. The foliage appears after the flowers have started to fade and persists through the winter, so they are best paired with low-growing evergreen herbs that can disguise the dieback in early summer.

Sun: Full sun.

Soil: Well-drained, poor soil.

Hardiness: H4 — down to −10°C.

Flowering: Sep, Oct, Nov.