Beautiful belladonnas

September sees the summer on Scilly drawing to a gradual close. The island is becoming quieter as the children return to school, the hedges are ripe with blackberries and the island is scattered with a beautiful display of showy pink belladonna lilies. These gorgeous flowers have a very short season and are only around for 3-4 weeks ever year.

We have quite a few customers who are always on standby at the end of August waiting for them to be ready for us to pick and send! The belladonna lily is a type of amaryllis and not to be confused with the more commonly known belladonna, deadly nightshade. They go by several names including the rather unforgettable one of 'naked ladies'. The foliage appears after the flowers have finished so they do look a little bare on their thick burgundy stems! 

They are native to Cape Province in South Africa but will grow happily planted just below the surface of the soil in a sunny spot in the warmer parts of the UK.