Eucomis

Eucomis vandermerwei is a lovely dwarf Pineapple Lily which is best grown in gritty compost in a container where it bulks up to form an outstanding clump. It is extremely rare in it's native home of South Africa. The deep-green leaves are slender and well-spotted usually with rippled edges, up to 5" (12cm) long. The miniature pineapple-lily flowers are a glistening rich-purple with yellow anthers held on short spikes up to 4" (10cm) high with a spotted bract atop to give a jewelled effect. If that isn'yt enough to tempt you, after flowering, the seedheads swell in shades of glossy deep-purple. Bring containers into a frost-free greenhouse or outbuilding in winter and keep dry until growth starts again the following Spring. When in flower, I love to position bowls of these on a tabletop outside where you can enjoy them at eye level.