There is no comprehensive literature review to accompany this bold claim, but I suspect this will be the first time the Raunkiaer system has entered the pages of Here.

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Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, Danish botanist Christen Raunkiaer presented a system for classifying plant life-forms, introducing the term “geophyte” for plants with bulbs, rhizomes or tubers. While this simply translates to “earth plant”, a description from Raunkiaer’s teacher and colleague, Eugen Warming, adds further to our understanding of the kinds of plants commonly known as “bulbs”.

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A pioneering figure in the field of ecology, Warming referred to them – somewhat poetically – as “renascent herbs”, alluding to the seasonal rebirth of plants such as daffodils, freesias and irises. They are defined in gardeners’ eyes by their often-sudden appearance and flowering, but their periods of dormancy are of equal interest to ecologists – as responses to factors such as extreme cold, dry conditions and fire (when it is advantageous not to have one’s head above the parapets).

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This plays a significant role in the resilience of geophytes; it’s one of the major reasons for our professional interest in them. Some of the best sources for informing planting design are gardens that have become derelict; where only the toughest survive. The winter appearance of blood lily (Haemanthus coccineus) along the sides of old houses in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is a good example of this, as is the persistence of a large-flowered bluebell, Scilla peruviana, of which we are currently trialling several interesting, naturally occurring forms from North Africa and Southern Europe.

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Looking into the habitats of wild plants offers further information, not just about ecology, but also aesthetics. We have a particular interest in the integration of selected exotic species within frameworks based on native ecology. Considering how plants register in the places where they evolved provides a basis for decisions about planting design.

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Sometimes, this information is derived directly from memory, such as the impression the vibrant blue Iris planifolia left on me when I saw it growing en masse in fields near Ronda more than 20 years ago. In the past two years, we have grown this attractive species from imported seed, and those memories from hillsides in Spain provide clues on how one might incorporate I. planifolia into naturalistic designs.

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Climate is key to understanding bulbous species from South Africa, which is divided into winter-rainfall and summer-rainfall zones. Years ago, we specified a remarkable, rare species of Kniphofia (K. typhoides) that grows within seasonal wetlands in the Eastern Cape. Last year, we collected seed from what we believe were the last remaining plants in New Zealand, still growing in our clients’ garden. My suspicion is most of the original plants perished in our wet winters, when this wetland species wasn’t expecting moisture.

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New Zealand’s wide range of environments offers many opportunities to explore the potential of geophytes within planting designs. While one can only contemplate growing species like the intriguing Ferraria densepunctulata (from sand flats in South Africa) in the north of New Zealand, the impressive foxtail lilies (members of the genus Eremurus) can be feasible in the cold winters and searing summer heat of Central Otago.

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A single genus can span continents, from mountains to coast. Accordingly, a crocus is not just a crocus, given that a species that starts its growth period within the snow melts of Iranian mountains will behave completely differently to a species like Crocus laevigatus, which grows almost to sea level in Crete.

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Recent years have seen a sharp reduction in the diversity of species specified within landscape designs. This stands in stark contrast to the vast array of plants introduced by pioneering plantspeople in New Zealand, which represent a wealth of design possibilities. With many of these plants, we either use them or lose them – a sentiment that lies at the heart of our obsession with retaining as much diversity as we can.

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