Fritillaria persica, Persian Lily, is native to a wide area of the Middle East, growing on rocky well-drained soils and experiencing summer heat. It has tall stems up to 1m tall in height with magnificent racemes of bell-shaped flowers that are a dusky greyish purple in colour giving them the appearance of a dense spire of metallic bells.

It is a stunning plant with a very exotic appearance. The bulbs should be planted very deep, at least 20cm, and to prevent rot need to be laid on their side and given a generous bed of sharp sand and gravel. They prefer a deep rich soil, slightly alkaline and for best growth a few limestone chippings should be added to a very well-drained position which has had generous amounts of grit and gravel added to it. The bulbs are best left undisturbed. It is not uncommon for them to take a year to settle in to their permanent location, often not flowering until the second year. It is worth waiting for!