Bellevalia pycnantha

Bellavalia pycnantha (synonym B. paradoxa) is a small bulbous plant closely related to grape hyacinths and hyacinths that deserves to be planted more in gardens. Its flowers are a deep blue close to midnight blue with a brownish tinge, a matte and slightly muted colour rarely seen in plants. Clustered on a compact spike, the flower buds gradually open into small bells as the inflorescence swells from the base to the top. Like the grape hyacinth, Bellavalia blooms in the heart of spring. It is a small hardy plant that requires well-drained, rocky or sandy soil. It pairs well with botanical tulips, narcissus, daffodils, and Greek anemones.

Bellavalia pycnantha, formerly known as Muscari paradoxum, is a bulbous plant in the asparagus family native to Turkey, found in the mountains of the Caucasus. It grows in sunny areas between rocks or in meadows, always in well-drained soil and under rather dry summer climates. Its cold resistance, under such growing conditions, is around -14°C (6.8°F) at its coldest.

In this Bellavalia, root growth begins in late summer with the return of rain, and the foliage emerges from the ground during winter. The ribbon-like leaves are wider than those of the grape hyacinth, resembling tulip or hyacinth leaves, measuring 10 to 40 cm (4 to 16in) long and 0.6 to 1.5 cm (0.4 to 1in) wide. They have a slightly glaucous green colour. The flowering stems emerge slowly from the centre of the leaf clump in March-April, always remaining shorter than the foliage. The flowering period is long, lasting 25 days in April-May. The flower buds are compressed on a conical spike, similar to the Oriental hyacinth. They are dark blue and open from bottom to top, with small campanulate florets measuring 0.8 to 1.4 cm (0.5 to 1in) long. Their colour changes from dark blue to a lighter blue-violet, with a fine pale yellow-green edge. Bumblebees and bees are the pollinators of these flowers. The triangular-shaped fruits contain small round seeds. The entire vegetation dries up in June, while the bulb enters a dormant period for the entire summer, preferably in a dry state.

Bellavalia paradoxa is a rather rare plant that enriches the range of these small spring bulbs that all gardeners eagerly await. Once established, it multiplies spontaneously without becoming invasive. Hardy and drought-resistant, it can be used in various situations: at the base of deciduous trees with anemones, as a border to highlight the design of a pathway, in rockeries alongside botanical tulips and crocuses, or in raised beds with Siberian squills and small botanical daffodils.