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Possibly Nothoscordum ostenii though I think this has had a name change
cheers
fermi

Thank you @Michael Mace and @Fermi. I agree it would be either L. aloides or L. bulbifera, with a greater chance that it is L. aloides. 

I looked up both species on the Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au). There is one record of L. bulbifera (1965) in Victoria, compared to 14 records of L. aloides. Interestingly, the closest record of L. aloides to my sighting was made in 2013 about 10 km away. 

Yes, it is likely to be a "garden escapee." I did not mention in my first post that the Lachenalia was growing among a clump of Watsonia meriana var. bulbillifera in the conservation reserve, and it was clear that the watsonia was invading the  reserve from a neighbouring property. 

I will keep an eye on the plant, and repost a photo when it is in flower.

I was watching a documentary about Kew this week, and thinking I'd quite like to be one of the circa 20 year old students who labor there. Do they pay for the privilege.

Jane - I'd like to go to your bulb growing school, but you know, 8000 miles away etc.

After almost 40 years of bulbs in August, I do not love this. Out as early as I can, sifting sand and sorting bulbs until the heat is too much, pulling out the gravestones -- the labels put in ten years ago, when I made this raised bed -- is about 80% depressing. The other 20% is finding very good things still alive, and they are going into plunged pots so I don't risk losing track of them. I have big baskets of Spanish Narcissus and California themids, which I will try to palm off on innocent persons; they're through choking out everything but the Calochortus and Tulipa, which get down below them. My goal is half the "directly planted" half of the bulb house, a space 8x20 feet; the other half, which is mostly free of narcissus and themids, gets done next year if I survive. I just turned 75, and I would hate gardening a lot less if I could hire help. The problem is not the cost, but the fact that reliable, skilled (or teachable) garden assistants do not exist in this area. We have "landscapers" (guys with a pickup and some power tools) and "garden designers" (people who've read some books about it), but not the legendary "gardeners." Thanks for listening....

Hi All,

Just a note to let folks know the summer bulb availability list is online now, we ship dormant bulbs all over the world. Some great new Erythronium introductions are available this year.  I have also expanded into alpine and rock garden plants for folks interested in those.

You can see the catalog at www.illaherareplants.com


Thanks,

Mark Akimoff
PBS member
Illahe Rare Plants
Salem, Oregon

The new catalog of bulbs and alpine rock garden plants is online now, I have a few species of Triteleia available. You can see the catalog at www.illaherareplants.com

All the best, 

Mark Akimoff
PBS member
Salem, Oregon

On second thought, L. bulbifera should bloom earlier in the year. So maybe it is aloides.

I think it might also be L. bulbifera. It'll be easier to judge when the flowers are fully open.