Fritillaria meleagris

Leaving more to go to seed this year and am enjoying discovering all the different seed heads 🤩 #snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

They usually last much longer than the flowers and can sometimes be almost a beautiful Kerry🤩

That's a great idea, I'm going to pinch it 😀

The seed heads do look pretty. A lovely colour too @kez001uk 😊

@Davidward they have a different kind of beauty 😍 it’s even more fascinating seeing a plant through its entire cycle. How all this comes from one tiny bulb will never not amaze me 🤯

@pelly please do! 😛 adds a different kind of interest and beats having a gap in the border. Plus might end up with loads more free plants 🤭

@KOutdoors I think so too 😛 the pattern on the seed head even resembles the pattern on the petals 🤩

That’s always a bonus 😍

Are you going to try growing the seeds? I did a couple of times but with no luck.

Wow! So cool! I spotted seed heads on my crocus bulbs. Very similar.

@jeatacake I have saved some and going to chance them in the lawn maybe 🤔 I never managed to get them to even sprout from seed before 😂

@ublaszko you had crocus seed heads?? Mine just turn to dead grass 😂

3-headed beast! 😱 #snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

Such a lovely beast though. 😄😍

How fabulous Kerry, so far I have just 1 popping up out loads that I planted.

Love these. Yours are ahead of mine 🐍🐍🐍

Never seen these anywhere 😯😍

...an amazing colour aren't they, like a checkerboard...mine are just starting get buds on now 👍

@hkyfvr @sieveheadsarah @pelly @wagsmomthompsonbtinternetcom @ukjohnny thank you all ☺️ it’s a strange one with its 3 heads but also the only one in the whole pot to flower 😂 the petal pattern always fascinates me 🤩

Always welcome 😍 Really like the petal pattern. 👍

That should be called a Medusa Fritillary!

@jeatacake 🤣😂 perfect name 😂 slightly more attractive than its namesake thankfully 🤭

I know. Fancy naming a plant after a Chinese organised crime group! 😄

@jeatacake 😆 maybe they’re organic weapons 😮

🐍🐍🐍 #snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

These are awesome. Very swanlike 😍😍

Yours are way ahead of mine 😍😍😍

@hkyfvr they do have an elegant swan-like look 😛 never seen a 3-headed one before though 🤪

@pelly as usual it’s the only one flowering in the pot 🤣 have joined the mutant club of 2022 with this one though 🤣 3 headed snake 😱

#snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

Love these, I thought mine had finished but I found another just coming into flower this morning 💜💜💜

@pelly they pop up so randomly don’t they 😅 still, the longer we get to see them the better 💜

Definitely 👍

#snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

Perfect specimens 💜💜

@jeatacake the detail is amazing given the size of the petals! One of the most beautiful flowers, don’t you think 😍

I agee 100%. Just imagine how popular they'd be if they were the size of say tulips! 💜💜

@jeatacake that would be gorgeous 😍 gonna have to build them collars to sit up the right way 😅

Ha ha. That's the only problem with them and hellebores too.

@jeatacake far too many shy flowers! And they’re hard to photograph the wrong way up 😆

They certainly are & risk back ache! 🥴

@jeatacake back ache or not being able to get up again 😆😆😆

Both in my decrepit case! 😂

@jeatacake 🤣 same!

B@&£*%d!!! 😡 didn’t even care to disguise himself!!! #snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris #wildlifewednesday

😈😈😈

🤬😡🤬

Uh oh! I didn't know they liked them too! 😧

Checked my lily before....none so far thank god....do they think we can’t see them...🙄

🤬🤬🤬

@jeatacake hi Jeff I had loads of these on my snake head the Lily’s have been clear so far

Arg little turds! Have you heard them do the guinea pig squeak? I think its called stridulating, something like that.

@ublaszko I dread the destructive little demons 😠

@anges was glad to see them away from my lilies but won’t be long til they get to them 😫

@jeatacake me either 😝 saw 2 on the yesterday, along with a load of their eggs. Didn’t expect to find more today 😫

@wagsmomthompsonbtinternetcom I hope they stay away 🤞🏻 it’s pretty much like they’re taunting you to come squish them 😜

💜 #snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

#snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

👍🙂

@ukjohnny thanks John 😀

#snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

Beautiful photo Kerry 😍😍😍

Love these!

Lovely photo 😍

Fabulous 🐍👍

Gorgeous little flowers

@dirtgirlworld thank you Maggie 😊

@pelly thank you Jane ☺️

@gjones they’re great looking things 😛

@lovemygarden65 thanks Marilyn 😁

@jeatacake thanks Jeff 😄

@alan1111 the detail in the petals is amazing isn’t it 😍

#snakes-head-fritillary #fritillaria-meleagris

Love love love 🐍🐍🐍

I love these little guys 💜💜

So pretty 💕

Lovely markings

@pelly they’re always my most anticipated bulbs 😍

@juliesgarden me too 😁 fascinating little things 😍

@lilybee they really are! Just waiting on the white ones now 🥱

@alan1111 so detailed aren’t they 😋

Especially on the inside 👌

@alan1111 oh yes 😛 love when they split open, like fancy balloon flowers 😁

Love how they get darker as they age 😍

These really are pretty! How tall do they get? Maybe we should give these another try🤔

@gjones they last for ages too and just get better 😍 these are about 25cm, quite sturdy also. Definitely worth another try 😉

I risked it and sniffed mine. Didn't smell of anything 😁

@ublaszko I forgot to check but now you have I don’t need to take the risk 😌😂

It's a real beauty & such a rich deep colour too 😍

@jeatacake thank you Jeff ☺️

Love these 😊 @kez001uk

Very welcome 👍

@vinny3000 thank you Gary 😊 they’re so striking aren’t they 😍

They are beautiful Kerry and one of my Spring favourites 😊 @kez001uk

Lovely grouping!

@gjones and the only one 🤣 the others are few and far between 😜

One of my favourite bulbs. I usually fall in love with new bulbs and then the next year they're a history but these fritillarias amaze me every year 😍😍😍

@ublaszko I couldn’t understand the fuss really. But then mine opened and seeing how beautiful they are up close, can’t help but love them. Almost as much as the neighbour cat loves the bulbs 😉

They're quite understated but very dainty and wildflower-like. I enjoy them immensely. Tulips on the other hand I couldn't care less 😁

@ublaszko speaking of tulips, any sign of yours opening yet?

I had a look at my purple/white tulip mix and only half of the bulbs have flowerbuds. I pulled the blank ones out to make space for something else. Another variety also only has half of flowerbuds. Not impressed. Still not flowering but my rhododendron is about to flower. 👍 @kez001uk

@ublaszko such a shame but good thing you’re not too fussed about tulips 😛 still would be nice for some to flower though 🤞🏻 oh that’s early isn’t it! My dwarf one is in bloom-ish but the proper one looks ages away

Yeah, I have a dwarf rhodo too. I think it will start to flower when I'm in Poland next week 😁 Tulips are at least 2 weeks away. Very slow to flower this year. Last year they were in flower from mid April to mid May. I'm convinced I ended up with dodgy bulbs last autumn. They will still be pretty the ones that actually flower.

@ublaszko you’re going so soon! Bet you can’t wait to get back home to see your family ☺️ what colour is your dwarf rhododendron? Those tulips are really keeping you waiting!

I haven't seen my family in 2 years because of the PhD and after speaking to my mum this week I bought the tickets for next week 😀 My rhodo is white although the flowers open from pink buds. Oh, I spotted my first tulip colouring up today so it might flower before I leave. Also, my camellia flower is also showing the slightest bit of colour on the tip of the flowerbud 😄 @kez001uk

@ublaszko that’s a long time to not see them ☹️ I hope you have a lovely time back home 😁 woooo! Tulips and camellia are finally doing what they should 😛 hope you get a show before you leave 🤞🏻

These are so lovely! ❤️

@natii they’re beautiful aren’t they 😍

Absolutely! 😊

They really are attractive. We tried growing some of these a few years ago along with a few other varieties of fritillaria. The only variety to survive our winter was the michailovskyi . At least one variety made it😊

@gjones that’s such a shame 🙁 I guess because they’re early flowering the snow stops them growing through? That variety is gorgeous, it’s great they overwintered 😁

Mine just didn't survive our terribly wet winter. 😐

@lesliecole49 sorry to hear that Leslie ☹️ one benefit of me being a container gardener is less chance of bulbs sitting in waterlogged soil. They seem to do well in pots 😁

Watch out for those teeth Kerry!

That's such a great close up 😊❤

@scaryskates 🤣 cheers Gary 😛 just needs some googly eyes 😉👀

@jeatacake vicious little things aren’t they 🤣

@anges thanks Ange 😁 just love the pattern and how they puff up when they open. One of my favourites I think 😍

Wow! That's an amazing shot Kerry!💘😍

@ShelleySnyder thank you Shelley ☺️ was just intrigued what they looked like up the right way 😂

Welcome! Love the checkerboard!💘😍

@ShelleySnyder they’re fascinating looking flowers aren’t they 🐍

They are Kerry!💘😍

Interesting how the checkered pattern is more intense (deeper colour) on the inside😊

@gjones it’s much more vibrant isn’t it. Just a shame they hang down so you never see the inside

One have been out for weeks this year. Such a good buy 😍👏

@suerichards think mine are way behind, even though these photos are from last week. Built up a backlog 🤣 could fill a garden with these and never get bored of looking at them. Although I need some white ones like yours 😋

Ah so you have some if these too. Looking good & ready to bite someone! 😀

@jeatacake not as many as I’d like and they’re way behind but well worth the wait 😍

Same principle as the bleeding hearts 😉👍

@jeatacake seems to be the same with most of my plants 😂

Soon we'll all be jealous when ours have finished flowering 😁👍

Mine are about to flower too 😊

@ublaszko our plants are in sync for once 😆 they’re such gorgeous flowers aren’t they

I like them very much! I need to plant more in autumn as the neighbour's cat dug them out again this winter. Seems he likes to do a wee around them because they were mulched and the ground underneath was nice and soft 😁😁😁

@ublaszko been seeing the white ones a lot, they’re beautiful 😍 oh no, that’s a shame ☹️ is it the one that tries to pinch pudgy’s food?

Yep, the same one. He's a rascal but too cute to be mad at 😁 I used to have some white ones too but he dug them up the year before last ones.

@ublaszko he really has a thing for your snake’s heads 🤣🤣🤣

Oh, guess what! I read on on one website that fritillaria meleagris smell like cat pee so it would make sense why the neighbour's cat came to pee on them. Why don't you give your fritillarias a whiff and let me know? 😉😂😂

@ublaszko oh no, not more cat piddle smells 😜 makes sense why boy cat liked them so much 😂 I’ll brave a sniff tomorrow and let you know 😅

😂 I'd sniff mine but he's already peed on them 😅 Perhaps he think it's another cat and he's trying to claim his territory. 😂

@ublaszko 😆 he’s definitely laid claim to them now 😜

😂😂😂