Pineapple lily

The sun has finally decided to come out today and it's really quite warm; I shall have to do a fair bit of watering later of potted plants in the yard.

My pineapple lilies, Eucomis bicolor, are flowering well; we have several other  species too. From southern Africa, they do well outside, but appreciate good drainage.

Like their namesakes, these bulbous plants can be propagated from their tops. I think this might be the only genuinely new thing that I've discovered in my gardening career - I looked it up at the time and could find nothing about it! Once the flowers are fading, cut off the top, strip off a few 'leaves' and root it like a cutting. Little bulblets grow around the cut stem. You can do the same with the leaves too, by cutting them into sections across the blade and rooting them the right way up! Soon you'll have more than you know what to do with!

My extra picture was a chance sighting of a living fossil!