Scilla natalensis or Merwilla plumbea is flowering in my garden for the second year, so I feel that I’ve managed to give it the right conditions despite our high winter rainfall and clay soil. The flowers are a delicate blue with a tiny bit of pale yellow, flowering a bit at a time to give an effect which reminds me a little of a shorter blue Foxtail Lily.
Although it has the right conditions I’ve made a mistake with some of its companions in the garden, and the flowers despite their height are completely overshadowed by a rampantly flowering lavender and a very purple flowered Salvia officinalis.
In the vase I have tried to avoid this, combining it with Restios, Rosemary, Iris Eye of the Tiger, Iris neomarica buds, White Sage and Lambs Ears.
I realised as I walked around looking for flowers to put with the Scillas how many more of our Spring flowers are native to South Africa: Kniphofia, Angels Fishing Rods, Freesias, Tritonias, Ixias, Sparaxis, Restios, Rhodohypoxis and Velthemia capensis just to name some which are flowering for me right now.
Scilla natalensis are supposed to make good cut flowers; it’s the first time I have tried them so I will find out. Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this meme each week.
Absent Gardener 
What a gorgeous scilla! I don’t think I’ve seen this one before. Must not be cold hardy. It’s a stunner! Love the iris, too. 🙂
Thanks Eliza, I think it can be grown outside in colder areas of California. It has really large bulbs which stick out of the ground. It’s quite dramatic in the garden. http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbslist/2009-May/evnmdrtg86elh3i7ajr0bt2h52.html
Yes, not frost hardy when I just looked it up. Zones 8-10, while we’re at 5. It would have to be grown as a summer bulb and pulled in the fall. I see the nomenclature gnomes have renamed this one, too: Merwilla plumbea
Well you can grow Foxtail lilies then – which I envy. They don’t flower here. The real problem with all this renaming is that you end up having to remember both names, and of the two, Scilla is easier. Oh well.
I love these amazing droopy blue things – never come across them before and presumably unlikely to be hardy in the UK. You have combined such an interesting collection of things in your vase today which is why Monday vases are so fascinating – thanks for sharing!
Thank you! The shortest ones are now pointing directly upward, I guess they are going toward the light. Eliza says they are OK for US zone 8. They do lose all their leaves in winter here as well.