The tiny Cyclamen coum is this month's favourite. It is a shy plant, not seen in many private gardens in Germany. They love dry undisturbed rather barren soil in the shade and under trees between roots with little direct sunlight where not much else grows. In our garden it grows under a large blue cedar tree (Cedrus atlantica glauca) and I had it under a copper beech in my previous garden. Its corms are best left undisturbed - when you work the soil during the hot summer period of dormancy when you cannot see the plant, the corms' roots will be disturbed and the plant will withdraw. But the timing of leaves and flowers make it a very delightful sight in the garden in the bleak winter times, therefore we work as little as possible in this area. Flowers come up from December and stay until the end of Februar until it gets warmer. I prefer the pink versions, as they contrast nicely with a snow cover when they peek out their flower heads. Seeds are sticky and distributed freely by ants; we often find young seedlings in the surrounding grassy area.
A more resilient relative is Cyclamen hederifolium - the ivy-leaved Cyclamen. It flowers in autumn from September on, its leaves are bolder, bigger and more dramatic in their markings. In our experience they grow well accompanied and interwoven with ivy.
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