Veltheimia bracteata

Far from its home in the Veldt, here under glass, and in the half-darkness of the hall under a spotlight when it is flowering, Veltheimia moves at the snail’s pace of an orchid. We begin to enjoy its unique leaves in November, deep glossy brilliant green, rising 18 inches from the bulbs, with wavy edges that remind me of a magnificent lacquered dandelion. In late December the flower spikes push up on purple-spotted stalks, opening kniphofia-style in January. By February they are open, from pale green buds, progressively dangling fifty or sixty dusky-pink bells.

A friend gave us our half-dozen bulbs in a handsome green ceramic pot ten years ago. Every year I look to see if there are offsets, or the bulbs are overcrowding the pot. To my surprise, neither. Veltheimia is like a sort of self-winding toy that you put back in its box between performances.

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