The snakeshead fritillary checks back in

I thought I’d lost mine. They were barely there anyway, as the enormous number of snakeshead fritillary bulbs bought from the local market turned out to be an enormous number of grape hyacinths, with a few fritillaries thrown in. One spreads like a weed; the other doesn’t. Guess which?

Their numbers dwindled annually (from four to one) and they didn’t appear at all last year. Which is when I used their space next to the fence to site tomato plants in bottomless pots. This year I’ve had a (near) explosion – six fritillaries coyly preen themselves in the long grass, like teenage girls done up to the nines, but lacking the self-confidence to look you in the eye.

So why have they returned? Well, the spot where I put them used to be under a sycamore. Bit shady, but retaining some moisture. When the sycamore fell down, they suddenly found themselves dry and sun-baked, a definite no-no for this fritillary, which thrives in water meadows.