Many old favourites of the cottage bulb garden such as Narcissus pseudonarcissus, Sparaxis, Freesia, Babiana, Ornithogalum thyrsoides(chincherinchee), Watsonia meriana and Chasmanthe floribunda (Aunt Eliza) have encroached into the bush due to deliberate planting and dumping. These are often seed producing, and the weedier species have small bulbils on the stems that allow local vegetative spread.  All are summer-dormant, sprouting and producing grass-like leaves at the autumn break and flowering in spring. They compete with native ground flora and change the appearance of native vegetation because they have conspicuous flowers.

It’s better to grow some of the modern hybrid and polyploid cultivars. As well as having larger flowers in a wider range of colours and a neater compact growth habit, they are less able to live in the wild.