Cyclamen may look like delicate plants, but they are incredibly tough little things and full of character. The hardy autumn-flowering varieties (mainly Cyclamen hederifolium) live an interesting life, kind of in reverse to most other plants. They die back and lay dormant from spring into summer, then burst into life when temperatures drop and the autumn rains fall. The flowers emerge first, with reflexed petals like mini sails, followed by their ivy-shaped (hence the hederifolium name) marbled foliage. They carpet the ground over winter, then die back and disappear come spring. Cyclamen look magical when planted in quantity, and if conditions are right they will slowly colonise areas through their tubers, and are prolific self-seeders too.
There are many garden varieties of C.
