Gardeners who like a touch of the exotic need not despair in these water-conscious times. Many of Earth’s loveliest flowers can get by with less. Take sparaxis, a group of bulbs -- underground ...

But Sparaxis tricolor, often called harlequin flower, is fairly common. ... Another option is to place sparaxis in pots; when the plants die back, you can move pots out of sight.

When you plant your bulbs in the fall, consider adding morebeauty by planting flower seeds around your bulbs, such as sweetpeas, nasturtium, Linaria and Virginian stock. These can all besown now ...

Sparaxis is sometimes marketed as the Harlequin flower, but the popular name has never caught on. This corm derives from South Africa and is at home here in light sunny soils where it will survive ...