One of my OCD exercises is keeping a list of desiderata plants for the garden, which I’ve either seen or heard about, and want to try. At this point, the list is closing in on a ridiculous 3,000 items. Some desiderata we find in less than a year, while others may grace the list for decades. One plant that had been on my list for about 20 years was Asphodelus acaulis…a fascinating stalkless species of asphodelus (most have tall stalks) from Northern Africa. Try as I might, I had been unsuccessful in tracking this down from any of my usual rock garden plant sources. It wasn’t until a 2018 plant shopping trip to the UK, that I finally found my grail plant in Bob Brown’s amazing Cotswold Garden Flowers. Now, going into its’ third season, it has settled in admirably, starting in late winter with its months long floral display of cupped light pink flowers nestled in the rain-lily like glossy green foliage. It is our hope to one day share this more widely…once we figure out the best propagation method.
Very nice!