When all around seems grey, a clump of bright pink Cyclamen coum nestled into the moss and leaves of the woodland floor grabs my attention.

I’d come to look at snowdrops, but today I was drawn towards the cyclamen. Maybe because the day was so bleak, the warm pink flowers appealed more than the cool white of the snowdrops (although snowdrops are a firm favourite I hasten to add).

Cyclamen coum are tough plants that thrive under trees and will grow even in short grass. Humus rich soil in partial shade is best however and they make excellent companions for ferns and other shade-loving plants.

Pale pink, deep magenta or pure white flowers with upswept petals appear from January to March above leathery, kidney-shaped leaves.The foliage varies enormously from deep green to completely silver with many pretty patterns in between, such as in the ‘Pewter Group’. There’s a huge variety of flower and foliage combinations.

Plant tubers with the rounded (usually smooth) side down, shallowly in humus-rich, fertile soil, or buy as plants in flower if you’re uncertain about which way up to plant the tubers. Give them a treat and apply a generous mulch of well-rotted leaf mould around the crown of the plants in spring as the foliage starts to die back. The plants are summer dormant but will gradually self-sow and naturalise, looking good in your garden for decades.