I well remember the very first thing I ever grew. I was living in Sandymount with a gang of friends and the house we were in had a big front garden. The only thing it grew was grass. At home I had been used to creating a border of those sturdy annuals – blue lobelia and white assylum – so I gave them a shot and they turned out great. Everyone in the house thought I was mad, but I was delighted with myself.

When I came to live in Ballyanne the first thing I grew was a tray of bright orange marigolds and it took me a while to graduate to the next class and try growing some herbaceous perennials. There was one special plant that I really wanted to grow only I didn’t think I’d succeed or had the soil to suit it.

The flower in question is dierama and I only began growing it three years ago. They say you know a good plant by the number of common names it has and if that’s the case, then this plant is a winner. It’s also known as .

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It’s native to the southern part of Africa and is one of the iris family. It has to be one of the most elegant flowers you can grow with its arching flower stems and bell shaped blooms that range in colour from pink to deep red.

It likes a nice sunny spot with free-draining soil that doesn’t dry out. I have two clumps which produced just one or two flower stems each in their first year. They are now producing more than a dozen stems each. I haven’t divided them yet and don’t intend to until they get stronger. But when the time comes just lift an established clump and cut it into sections and replant. Give it a go.