Bulb with a purple cone-shaped flower - what is it

starseeker, Aug 21, 4:33pm
I've just seen a bulb in a neighbour's garden, with a cone-shaped flower bud just starting to come through the ground. A touch of blue/purple is showing on some of the lower flower buds. The leaves are long & narrow

It is not muscari or hyacinth
Sorry no pic
maclad, Aug 21, 5:20pm
Babiana maybe, could be lots of things.
flier3, Aug 21, 5:48pm
What size is it? Any leaves and what do they look like?
starseeker, Aug 21, 6:49pm
Not babiana, it's something I have not seen before. I have googled 'purple flowers' but nothing which came up looked like this. The neighbour has promised me a bulb - hope she doesn't forget!
maclad, Aug 21, 7:02pm
Velthemia
starseeker, Aug 21, 7:20pm
I think perhaps it is a scilla peruviana - will look at neighbour's garden again
alston, Aug 22, 8:03am
Crocus?
wine-o-clock, Aug 22, 8:09am
very beautiful if it is
articferrit, Aug 22, 8:32am
Possibly scilla peruviana, mine are just about to flower, I was told they were called peruvian lily, and theyre easy to transplant and grow.
colin433, Aug 25, 2:15pm
I know the one you're talking about, but can't recall it's name. Maybe if you google for blue flowered bulbs
pauline999, Sep 2, 6:06pm
I just googled this and it says they are poisonous - flowers, leaves and roots. Not sure I'd want to grow them, though they are very pretty.
maclad, Sep 2, 6:22pm
If everybody refused to grow any thing which is poisonous in their gardens then we would have a very limited choice of variety.
There are so, so many common, everyday plants which we grow that are very poisonous. Agapanthus, azalea, rhododendron,daphne, daffodil for a start. How many more can everybody add, just for interests sake.
articferrit, Sep 29, 12:19pm
They are probably only poisonous if I eat them, and I dont eat my rhubarb leaves or daffodils either. They are well worth having in the garden, they just grow, always flower, disappear and do the same next year.