I have had naked ladies in the spring, bright red Amaryllis in summer, loads of red Lycoris in late summer along with Iris and a few perinneals. Would love to post a picture of the Red Lycoris in full bloom,from my gallery on my phone but don't know how on here. Any suggestions? Also my naked ladies did wonderfully last spring, but only about half came up this year. Any reason for that? The only thing I can think of is that I had an invasion of snails and slugs, finally got rid of them and now have little frogs, which are great and Anoli lizzards (geckos) and they eat all the bad stuff. How do I encourage the naked ladies to come back? They were multiplying then only about half came up this year??? Help!

They are (clearly) long lived and flourish in the temperate UK climate so yes, they are astonishingly common here - almost every garden I have worked in has a clump or 2 stowed away. However, I also have to say that nearly all of them are stashed in a shady, often damp area...and planted very meanly (just 1 or 2 bulbs). When I see a thriving naturalised colony, upright in open grass, I could be persuaded to enjoy them but sadly, it is a rare occurrence to see one which is not squished on its side in sodden soil under a shrub (where cyclamen really do emerge victorious). I agree, PosieRosie, autumn bulbs are often overlooked. I have only really started growing them since acquiring more space...and the often rank, vigour of an English September/October seems to call for rampant sturdy perennials rather than dainty bulbs...and in sun, I for sure have been still engrossed in the summer delights of dahlia, salvias, hesperanthus, alstroemeria...with a complete reluctance to admit tasteful pastels. Trying to get to grips with my quite visceral dislike of colchies - not wanting to offend growers who love them.

I'll have hosta seeds soon - the pods are ripening. The parents are extremely large, 4 ft variegated, not sure the name. Also have tons of seedlings from two different color types of large hosta, the seedlings are all green. This post was edited by Queen-Gardener on Mon, Aug 25, 14 at 11:59

Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK rates Amaryllis belladonna Sunset Zone 4: "Where temperatures stay above 15F/-9C, keep tops of bulb necks at or slightly above ground level. In cold-winter areas, choose a protected southern exposure and set bulbs slightly below ground level" Lycoris radiata, L. sanguinea and L. sprengeri it also indicates being hardy to Sunset 4. L. squamigera gets a Sunset 2. For all Lycoris it says "Grow in a sunny site that can stay dry during summer dormancy. (In areas of summer rainfall, grow in pots that can be protected from moisture.)" Many bulbs have this same requirement for months of dryness, the development of the bulb in the first place often being an adaptation to a climate or site where the conditions are unsuitable for maintaining a complete plant body with leaves for much of the year. Tulips, for instance, are native to deserts where it is mostly too dry or too cold for them to be above the ground anytime except spring.