The specie nerine sarniensis come originally from South Africa, where the orange flowering bulbs grow in the mountains of the southern Cape Province. They arrived in Europe in the 1600's and made their home on the island of Guernsey, from whence they get their common name of the 'Guernsey Lily'. They also are sometimes called the 'Jewel Lily' for the sparkle effect of sunlight on their petals.
These nerines flower in the Autumn after a period of summer dormancy. They require a frost-free growing area or greenhouse as they are unable to tolerate prolonged frost and, if kept in the proper environment, are extremely long lived. The best climate being akin to that of the northern Mediterranean, which is similar to their home conditions of a cool, wet, winter and a hot dry summer.
The joy of collecting nerines is the enormous variation of colourways within the hybrids - from orange to white to pink and purple, some with straight petals, some with really crinkly, and all of them sparkle in sunlight.*
HURRY AND ORDER NOW AS THE FLOWERING SEASON IS UPON US AND ONCE IT BEGINS WE WILL HAVE TO STOP SHIPPING THIS YEAR UNLESS YOU WISH TO RISK GETTING DAMAGED FLOWER SPIKES!!! (We will stop shipping on the 5th September)
We grow our nerines in the Glasshouse at the world famous Exbury Gardens in the New Forest in Hampshire, England (www.exbury.co.uk). Nerines.com, our web name, is not a commercial grower. It is merely probably the largest private collection of these lovely plants in the UK. As our bulbs split and multiply (which they do all by themselves!) we have surplus bulbs for sale ranging in price depending on what we consider to be good, very good, better and best. The money raised goes towards the upkeep of the collection. Go to our shop and see what is available, we sell them by colour and price.
The 'Galleries+' pages feature almost all of our named varieties, some with their star ratings.
*The sparkle comes from the fact that the cells on the surface of the petals are reflective and angled in all different directions - this when the sunlight hits them the effect is to make them shine individually, creating the sparkle.
The 'Galleries+' pages feature almost all of our named varieties, some with their star ratings.
*The sparkle comes from the fact that the cells on the surface of the petals are reflective and angled in all different directions - this when the sunlight hits them the effect is to make them shine individually, creating the sparkle.