Cyclamen make a most welcome splash of colour, with ne or more species in flower throughout the year. The flowers, with their characteristic reflexed petals, are in various shades of pink through to white, and the leaves are very often mottled or patterned with silver. A few species are not fully hardy, but many are, and left to seed themselves they can eventually make an impressive display.

Cyclamen alpinum is a lovely small species, also known as Cyclamen trochopteranthum, from the eastern Mediterranean, where it can sometimes be found tucked away under shrubs, out of the reach of goats. It has small, round leaves spotted with silver, and rich rosy pink flowers.