Dierama: a delightful dangler

The South African section of the World Garden at Lullingstone Castle is currently plastered with Dierama pulcherrimum – otherwise known as angel's fishing rod or wandflower.

When mature, its grass-like foliage gives way to pendant, arched, airily beautiful flowering spikes. When a breeze passes through, nothing including the grasses can beat the wafting this plant shows off. The fact that it's a member of the Iris family – Iridaceae – is horticultural madness! With so many dieramas deliberately planted close to the garden paths, they now overhang gorgeously. In fact, here comes confession time: in the early hours of yesterday I ran down to the World Garden in a very short pair of shorts and massaged my legs by repeatedly wandering up and down the paths – the silky touch of the floral bracts and upper stems is extremely appealing.

Some people find that angel's fishing rod is not the easiest plant to grow, but if I can do it, anyone can. It requires full sun in a well-drained soil that is reasonably moisture-retentive. I've found Dierama don't like growing in pots, and once they're established in the open ground, don't move them. They will almost certainly die. My advice is to buy very small plants or seed and direct sow into its final planting position. Most seed companies including Chiltern Seeds supply Dierama pulcherrimum in a variety of colours including white and dark purple, and if you're visiting Lullingstone, seed from my World Garden seed range and some plants are still left for sale. Within three or four years your garden will be overcome with joyous Dierama action and you'll all be out in your shorts caressing their adoring stems!